Quiet In The Storm V1
by BoredParanoia
Summary: When one door closes, another opens. When Naruto Uzumaki is rendered mute, it opens doors that shape his world...and eventually the world.  Discontinued, rewrite posted.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

* * *

Bright. It was too bright. Those were the thoughts running through the blond's head as he sat up, rubbing his eyes and opening his mouth to yawn.

Overall, the five year old boy looked to be quite the runt. His shirtless state revealed his ribs to be lightly bound tight by his lightly tanned skin, and bruises and scars that were disappearing one after another. His face was that of a bright rambunctious youth who simply had to experience too many things at too young an age. Besides his cerulean blue eyes and unruly bush-like blond hair, the only true distinguishing mark that anyone would even notice would be his birthmark. On both of his cheeks, there lied three lines, reminiscent of whiskers.

Once the boy wiped the crust from his eyes, he blinked them rapidly as he looked around the room. Most children his age would hyperventilate and empty their bladders of the mere mention of hospitals. Then again, Naruto Uzumaki wasn't like most children.

And if one wants to dispute that statement, please find proof of ordinary five year children who have subsisted on a diet of ramen for two years, endured ongoing discrimination, burglary, beatings and general hell, and able to have a smile and matching attitude that could power a city for two weeks.

Taking stock of the room around him, he noted that the whole room was painted white, smelled sterile, and was just boring to look at. The only thing to break the monotony of the room was himself and a chair with his clothes on. Blinking at this, Naruto lifted the covers to look at himself. Shrugging, he then slid his feet to the side of the bed and slowly set his feet on the ground. Gritting his teeth, he slowly eased onto the ground until he was upright. With a sigh and several brief stretches that gave very satisfying cracks, he then got his clothes.

He was now dressed in a faded dark blue t-shirt with a red-orange spiral in the middle, shorts that reached up to the upper part of his knees, and ninja sandals that were barely holding themselves together.

Nodding to himself, he reached for the knob of the door, when the knob began to turn. Panic arose within his breast, and in haste, he leaped for the window, tore it open, and prepared to take a dive into the nearby dumpster.

"NARUTO UZUMAKI! What are you doing?"

Naruto froze, and slowly turned his head towards the door, mouth easing into a sheepish smile. There, standing in the doorway, stood a stern looking old man. He was dressed in white robes with a conical hat with a red stripe in the middle with the kanji for fire shadow. His wrinkled and rough face was currently set in a frown; seeing the position he had caught Naruto in. His name was Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Sheepishly rubbing the back of his head, Naruto opened his mouth to greet the old man…only for a moment later to slap his mouth shut. Hiruzen blinked, and crouched next to Naruto. Putting an hand to his ear, he ventured closer.

"C-could you repeat that, Naruto?"

Naruto slowly moved his hands to his sides, and slowly spoke…only for nothing to come out. Naruto tried harder to get a word out, still nothing. He tried harder and harder, until he went red in the face. Now panting, with tears forming in his eyes, he looked up to Hiruzen for answers.

Seeing Naruto try and try to get something out, Hiruzen Sarutobi practically felt a tang of guilt in his heart as he placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"Naruto, please bear with me. During that…incident last night…"

Hiruzen trailed off seeing the flash of understanding in his brilliant blue eyes and rapid nodding.

"One of the villagers was an ex shinobi, retired 20 years ago. However, it seems that he hadn't been slacking. He was able to lodge a kunai into your throat. We were able to get you to the hospital in time, but unfortunately, your vocal cords were damaged to the extent that you couldn't talk. Naruto, I'm sorry I couldn't do more than this…You deserve better."

With that, Hiruzen closed his eyes as a tear slowly slid down his cheek. Naruto paused, and then hugged the old man around his neck. The blond stayed there as the old man began to cry out all the tears he had been saving up for five years.

* * *

Konohakagure, or the village hidden in the leaves, seemed to have been named improperly. The first reason is that it wasn't exactly a village. A village, by definition, had a population of a few hundred to several thousand and mostly specialized in one certain area, such as fishing or mining. Konohakagure had a population of several million and was mostly a hodgepodge of different trades.

The second reason why it was named improperly was the fact that it was barely hidden. The surrounding forest did little to hide the towering walls that loomed over. Even if one were to overlook the walls, the faces carved into the mountainside surely would give a sign of civilization.

But on the bright side, all least it was a pretty view, especially when observed from the fourth face from the left, on the top of the head. However, this little tidbit of information was known by the only occupant that was sitting there. Naruto silently stood there, dull eyes watching over the village, partaking of the peace he found there.

He currently wore a bandanna over his blond hair, sunglasses over his eyes, bandages over the lower half of his face, and a brand new shirt and pants. If he looked on the bright side of things, he currently lived with his surrogate grandfather, he was able to walk in the streets and get only curious glances and double takes.

But on the other hand, if he just took off the disguise, the jeers, glares, and beatings would begin anew. As much as Hiruzen wanted him to believe otherwise, he knew that the celebration was for his death. That all the clicking of glasses, the dances, and all the people eating each other's faces was all due to his supposed death. And wasn't that his whole dream, that no matter what the cost, that he could feel the warmth of adoration. That he could partake in the glow of smiles. Yes, he appreciated Hiruzen, but deep down, he wanted more.

Sighing, he walked through the playground. Then he saw something that made him pause. There on the swing, there sat a dark haired girl with her head bowed, surrounded by three bigger boys who looked to be teasing her. Naruto began to took a step towards the group, only for hesiatation to seep into his heart.

His adoptive grandfather did say to keep out of trouble, didn't he? What could happen could put him under scrutiny again, and he was outnumbered and outgunned. Also, who's to say that the girl would even give him back.

However, at that point, as he began to back away, he heard something. Turning back, what he saw immediately turned burned away any hesitation and replaced with full blown indignation. The girl still had her head bowed, but on her dress, he could see dark spots that seemed to be drying tears. And those…jerks actually had the balls to laugh at someone's misery?

One of the boys felt a sharp pain between his legs, and he let out a shrill yell as he fell to his side. The two remaining boys and girl looked up to see a small boy whose face was completely covered, fists held out in a sloppy fighting stance. The girl sniffed as the two boys snarled and charged the strange boy.

The first of the two reared back his fist and threw a punch at the face. Naruto ducked under and gave a hard left straight into the boy's gut. He collapsed showing the other boy with his foot extended towards Naruto. The blonde rolled away and found himself on the other side of an empty swing.

The boy grinned and placed himself on the other side. Naruto growled as where he moved so did the boy. Finally, deciding to take a chance, Naruto grabbed both chains and pulled on them, bringing both his feet to slam into the boy's sternum. The boy flew back, and landed on his back.

The girl watched and sweat dropped when her "rescuer" dropped onto the ground with his feet now on the swing. She saw the bullies beginning to regain their wits and move towards the mysterious figure. Inspiration suddenly struck her as she gathered up enough oxygen in her lungs. Once they were filled to their maximum capacity, she did the only thing she knew to buy her protector time.

She screamed.

Everyone in the vicinity immediately clutched their ears in pain as Naruto quickly untangled his legs from out of the swing. Looking to the girl, he saw her gesture for him to go. Quickly glancing at the recovering bullies, Naruto got up and quickly bowed before running off in another direction. A moment later, the trio ran, or in some cases, limped, after the boy.

The girl silently stared at the direction of her rescuer, quietly running through the moment over and over.

* * *

Naruto growled. Whoever these guys' parents were, live for revenge was apparently their motto. Since leaving the park, they have been tailing him since. They were now in the shopping district, and from what Naruto had seen, he was sure that those same parents would have a hernia. While Naruto weaved in and out of the traffic, the trio drove straight through, knocking over carts and backhanding people into said carts.

Finally, Naruto had enough. Leaping over a cart, he then ducked into a nearby stall. Teuchi and Ayame Ichiraku looked down at the strange individual who had just hidden himself behind the counter. Naruto pulled down enough bandages to reveal one of his cheeks, then put a finger to his lips and lied in a fetal position. Looking the trio that were twisting their heads every which way, they nodded to each other and resumed working nonchalantly.

The trio then looked around, angrily willing for the boy to come out and start kissing fist when suddenly they heard, "You hooligans!"

The three looked over their shoulders to see a crowd of angry villagers. The bullies then began to run, the predators becoming the prey, as the villagers gave chase. Naruto sighed in relief only to see both Ichirakus looking at him strangely.

"Naruto, where were you? And aren't you talking?"

Naruto sighed, this had 'long and awkward talk' written all over it.

* * *

In this world, there exists "villages" that specialize not in any specialty that a normal village would have. In each country, there is a village which trains the main force of the military: the ninjas. However, above these ninja villages, there exist five that stand above the rest. They are Sunagakure (village hidden in the sand), Kirigakure (village hidden in the mist), Iwagakure (village hidden in the rock), Kumogakure (village hidden in the clouds), and Konohagakure.

Of these five villages exist the five kages, ninjas reportedly so powerful the mere sight of them on the battlefield sent countless numbers awkwardly running away and changing their pants at the same time. These kage were also declared the leader of the ninja village and were responsible for every last facet.

However, even the most powerful had fallen to an age old enemy that had buried countless men and women in its wake, the terror that was known as … old age. Well, actually it was paperwork. Perhaps intermediate age old enemy would have been more appropriate.

However, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure, was more than focused on this particular paperwork. This practically had a life hanging in the balance. Setting down his pen, he leafed through the papers, and nodding to himself, leaned back in his chair. Whipping out his pipe, he began to smoke on it as he pondered his current problem.

As much as he wanted to deny it, this incident had opened his eyes to the fact that Naruto was not safe in Konoha. That as soon as someone caught wind of the "demon's" condition, the attempts on his life would increase tenfold. Hiruzen sighed as he looked at one of the stone faces.

"Sorry, Minato-kun, it's seems I have failed you and Naruto." Hiruzen thought as he reached for the intercom.

"But I believe it's time I try to correct it."

However, before Hiruzen could touch the button, the intercom blinked.

"Hokage, there is a person here to see you."

Hiruzen sighed. If it wasn't one thing, it was another.

"Send them in."

When the door opened, Hiruzen sat up straight, adjusted his hat, and folded his hands in a professional manner.

There, in the doorway, stood a rather tall man, nonchalantly walking in. He wore a tight black undershirt, and black pants that was sealed by black duct tape. Over the black undershirt, he wore a white vest with straps covering the places his neck meets shoulder. His gloves reached mid bicep, and had a piece of metal covering part of the back of his fist. White gauntlets covered his forearm and extended past his elbow. A mask covered the lower half of his face, while his wild silver hair was swept to the side. Finally, a headband with a metal plate adorned with what looked to be a spiral with a beak on it was placed over his left eye.

"Ah, Kakashi, what do I owe the honor of your visit?"

Immediately, the detached demeanor of the ANBU captain slumped into shame and despair.

"Hokage… I'm… I'm sorry."

Hiruzen could only raise an eyebrow as Kakashi continued.

"Though I … know that Naruto isn't the demon, there was still a part of me that still hated him for taking away Minato. That night, when that ex-shinobi threw that kunai, I-I could have stopped it. But for a moment, the part that hated stopped me. That split second which I hesitated…" Kakashi trailed off.

With that, he produced some papers from his pockets and got up from the seat. Placing them on the desk, the silver haired ANBU began to walk to the door. Hiruzen picked up the stack of papers and looked up at Kakashi.

"What is this?"

Without even turning to acknowledge the Hokage, Kakashi sighed forlornly.

"That is my resignation, effective immediately. I failed too many times for me to keep going. I'm… just done."

Hiruzen set aside the resignation forms and stood up.

"Would you would take a walk with me? I feel like I could use the exercise. Just hold on a minute."

Hiruzen made a few hand signs and shouted, "KAGE BUSHIN NO JUTSU!"

With that, a poof of smoke appeared and with that, three copies of Hiruzen appeared. The Hokage gestured to them.

"You know what to do."

The three clones nodded as they began to hand out the paperwork between themselves. Joining Kakashi, who looked at him with a raised eyebrow, Hiruzen shrugged.

"I have to be called the Professor for something."

The glint of amusement in Kakashi's visible eye brought a small upward curve to Hiruzen's lips.

* * *

Naruto pursed his lips as he eased his pencil into a comfortable position. Once tip met paper, he slowly moved the pencil, creating curves and lines. Eyebrows suddenly scrunching in confusion, he looked at the book again to see how the letter was drawn. Sighing, he began to start anew.

Hearing the door open, he bounded towards the door to see his adopted grandfather there with a rather familiar looking man. Naruto pursed his lips in thought, until realization struck him. He smiled at the man and lipped his name. It was fortunate that both the Hokage and Kakashi could read lips.

'Dog!'

Kakashi stared at him then at the Hokage.

"My hair is that obvious, huh?"

The Hokage stared at him and said, "Yes, yes it is. Now come, we have much to discuss."

Pouring tea into Kakashi's cup, Hiruzen set the teapot down. Picking up his own cup of tea, the two began to watch Naruto intently study the picture book. Hiruzen sighed as he set down his cup.

"Tell me Kakashi, do you think Naruto should stay in Konoha?"

The silver haired man looked at the older man like he had just sprouted another head.

"Hokage, not to sound blunt, but Naruto can't. As much as we would like to delude ourselves into thinking otherwise, Naruto cannot keep his identity secret in Konoha. Eventually people will get off the ecstasy and will start asking questions. Even if he manages to survive, there isn't anything much for him. He needs to get away from Konoha, and even if he wants to return, he needs a new identity."

The Hokage smiled sadly.

"That's what you think, huh, Kakashi?"

Kakashi sadly nodded.

"I'll stand by it."

Hiruzen smiled.

"Good, that was what I was thinking. However, Naruto will need a caretaker for this journey, until he is older…"

Hiruzen trailed off, letting the cogs in Kakashi's mind work.

"Me? Hokage, are you sure?"

The Hokage smiled.

"Who else can be qualified as much as you? Besides, even after all that, you still are his favorite ANBU."

Kakashi set down his tea cup.

"Is that so?"

Kakashi shifted his weight.

"So where should I take Naruto?"

Hiruzen took out his pipe, lit it, and then took a puff.

"Anywhere other than Earth Country."

Kakashi nodded and looked at Naruto, who had now looking at them strangely. The ex-ANBU stood up and stretched. He looked at Hiruzen.

"I'll…leave it to you to explain to him. I'll go get ready."

With that, Kakashi disappeared in a swirl of leaves. Hiruzen looked at Naruto, who had stars in his eyes at what Kakashi just did. The Hokage smiled at the child-like awe of Naruto. Then he sighed and gestured for Naruto to sit on his knee. Naruto tilted his head in confusion, but still complied. The Hokage looked into the boy's eyes.

"Naruto, I was glad to have known you for what little time I have. Your… determination, your tenacity, your compassion were all comfort to this old heart. Nevertheless, it is with…great sadness that I must say that Konoha is no longer safe for you. So as soon as possible, you must take anything of value and go."

Seeing horror in the boy's eyes, Hiruzen shook his head.

"No, Naruto, I am not banishing you or exiling you. If you wish, you could come back, only under a new identity. However, don't think that I won't be leaving you alone. You saw that man, right?"

Seeing Naruto nod, Hiruzen continued.

"Well, you just saw the public face of Dog, a man named Kakashi Hatake. He will take care of you, and if you wish, he can teach some techniques."

Seeing Naruto turn to where Kakashi was and then pointing to there, Hiruzen nodded.

"Yes, with practice, even the Shunshin."

Naruto smiled sadly, as he began to think of the road ahead of him.

* * *

That night, the moon loomed full as two figures left the village. Three people watched as the duo soon disappeared underneath the trees. Then as the two disappeared into the night, the three left with tears in their eyes.

* * *

Please read and review. The pairing might take a while to come. Okay? BYE!


	2. Chapter 2

Let's see here. At press time, this story has: 5 reviews, 2 C2, 16 favorites, and 29 alerts. In one word, wow. Now in other news you have questions, so I'll have to answer them.

To: Tachi Kagahara.

Fu actually isn't a filler character. In fact, considering her status, she could have played a very large role in the canon. Instead, the only time she was even mentioned was by a gender confused terrorist/artist who put the three into… yeah. That's Fu for you.

Also thank you to the following reviewers, including Tachi Kagahara: Lost in the night, Twilight- The Moon Spirit, kikauzu, and Cloud303.

Alright, now that's out of the way, here is the second chapter. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: if anyone else owned Naruto, perhaps there wouldn't have to be so many senseless character deaths.

* * *

Ten years later…

There was not a cloud in sight, allowing the rising sun to shine down brightly, illuminating the forest lightly. Birds chirped over head as the wind blew between the blades of grass. A grey rabbit popped out of his hole and hopped out a few feet away. His nose twitched as he began to search for food. Suddenly, the nose stopped twitching as the rabbit lifted its head, as if sensing something.

It dropped to the floor, an arrow lodged in his side. The body twitched one last time before it went still. The bushes rustled before a hunter crept out of it. Walking in front of the rabbit, he casually plucked the arrow out of the body. Picking up the carcass, he placed it into a basket that already had several other rabbits. Closing the basket, he then looked at the arrow he had just plucked from the rabbit.

Deciding that the arrow was still usable, he slipped it into his quiver and disappeared back into the foliage.

The sun was now in its midday position and shined down fully. The hunter wiped some sweat off his brow as he sat in the shade of a tree. Checking his basket, he felt satisfied at the fruits of his labor. Feeling a dry feeling in his throat, he shouldered his bow, picked up the basket, and began to walk in one direction.

Finally the man came across a river. Smiling as the dry feeling became even dryer in anticipation; the hunter dropped all of his things, fell to his knees, and began to drink the water greedily. Feeling satisfied, he sat down in the shade and was getting ready to fall asleep.

That was until out of the corner of his eye, he saw something. Turning his head in the direction and letting his eyes fully take in the sight, his eyes widened as he stood up. His hibernating brain now working on full capacity, he ran over to the object and began to recall every bit of medical information he could.

The object was a male human body that looked 15 – 16 years old. He laid on his stomach, nearly face down. Checking over the body, the hunter was relieved to see a pulse. He put a hand to the shoulder and with a grunt, rolled the body over.

The teenager wore a simple black t-shirt with sleeves that reached to the middle of his bicep. Two belts looped themselves around each shoulder, making an X that held the shirt tightly around the middle. His pant legs reached around the knees, and other than the two side pockets, didn't leave any room for a snag. He also had what the hunter recognized as a kunai holster, wrapped around his right thigh. Finally, his black sandals looked worn in, but not yet at the stage of falling apart.

What was on the teenager's face really caught the hunter's attention. Covering the lower part of the face was a mask. The mask seemed to be made of black spandex and obscured any features that the teenager had. It also had a zipper located where the hunter assumed where the mouth was. Over his eyes were goggles in which one of the lens was cracked. Also the teenager's blond hair was nearly cut to the roots, showing parts of scalp.

Sighing, the hunter slowly reached toward the zipper, when the teenager's hand grabbed his wrist. Jumping back, the hunter watched as the teenager opened his eyelids, revealing cerulean blue eyes. He groaned as he sat up, absentmindedly rubbing his head. Then looking down and seeing shadow, he disappeared.

The next moment, the hunter's hands were bound behind him as a kunai was held to his throat. Whoever the teenager was, seeing the way he had disappeared and restrained him, he was not one to be trifled with. Everything practically stopped for the hunter as he began to plead to the teenager

"Wait! Please, I beg of you! I am just a simple villager, a hunter of game. Please, I pose no threat, especially to one of your caliber."

His breath hitched as the stranger took some time to digest the words. Finally, there was an absence of kunai against his throat and the hunter breathed in deeply as he fell to his knees. Looking up he saw the stranger bend down pick something from off the ground. As the stranger dusted it off, the hunter realized that the object was a khaki colored bucket hat. The stranger sighed, before placing it on his head.

Then turning to the hunter, the stranger lifted his sleeve revealing a seal on his tricep. Pressing it, the seal shined, before blanketing the area in smoke. When the smoke disappeared, in his hands were a notebook and a pencil. Flipping to an empty page, he took out the pencil and began to write. Once the stranger finished, he turned the notebook so the hunter could read.

"Where am I?" It read.

The hunter scratched his head before answering. Why didn't the stranger just talk?

"You're right now in the midst of fire country."

Seeing the stranger nod and mutter to himself, the hunter was prepared to make a break for it, no matter that the teenager could easily teleport to him and slash his neck. Instead, the blond began to write in his notebook again.

"What and where is the closest town here?"

The hunter pointed behind him with his thumb.

"The closest town would be at least ten minutes from here in that direction."

Seeing the stranger shoot what he could presume to be a smile at him, the hunter smiled back only to see him walking away. Bristling, the hunter moved back to his game, when he then looked down. Right where the stranger was, there lied a stack of bills. Picking them up and counting through them, only one thought cycled through his head.

Whoever that person was, he was also loaded.

* * *

In Konohakagure, there were two ways into the village. Through the air, and through the wall. Despite reassurance that gate guarding was one of the most important jobs one could be assigned, those people obviously left out how boring it was.

This fact practically had its nose touching with the two current gate guards, Izumo Kamizuki and Kotetsu Hagane.

"I spy with my little eye…something that is green." Kotetsu said, putting a hand to his eyes.

Izumo rolled his eyes. Sure, Kotetsu was his friend, but sometimes Kotetsu's ways of passing the time just grated on his nerves.

"Let me guess… moss on a rock?"

Kotetsu whistled.

"Really, how did you know?"

"I traced your eyes. Okay? Now it's my turn."

The brown haired chunin sighed before quickly scanning his eye over the environment.

"I spy with my little eye… something black and khaki."

Kotetsu looked around and settled his eye on the approaching figure.

"Would it be that guy?"

"…Yep."

Once the figure reached the gates, the two chunin raised an eyebrow at the mask, but retained their composure.

"Halt, show us your papers."

The figure dug around in one pocket and produced some papers. Handing Izumo the papers, he patiently waited as the two chunins looked through. Finally, the papers were handed back to the figure.

"Well, we're sorry but we have to send you to the hokage. Please forgive us."

With that, out of thin air, two masked figures appeared and laid their hands on the figure's shoulder. Nodding to both ANBU, they began to walk. Slightly bowing before the two, the figure passed through the gates. A little while after, Kotetsu turned to Izumo.

"Izumo?"

"Yes, Kotetsu?"

"That mask freaked me out."

"I'll be seeing that mask in my dreams too, Kotetsu."

"Does that mean I can sleep over at your house for a while?"

"No."

"Rats."

* * *

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed as he set down his pen and began to stretch his spine. He was at the age where he should have been enjoying retirement, not being the head of what was widely considered the strongest shinobi village in the five elemental countries. But circumstances played their hand, and here he was, struggling to serve despite his regrets and failures.

His biggest one practically sat outside his window. As Hiruzen stared at the faces impassively watching over the village, he couldn't help but to stare at the fourth face. It had been ten years since he had last seen Naruto, and though it felt heavy on his heart, it at least lifted his spirits that somewhere out there Naruto was able to find a place he would be loved and appreciated.

Feeling a glow in his heart, the old hokage picked up his pen and began to work on the paperwork again when the intercom blinked.

"Lord Hokage, there seems to be someone from the gates that has to see you."

Hiruzen sighed as he once again set down his pen.

"Very well, send him in."

Sit up straight, fold the hands, stare at the door…

The door opened as the strange individual walked in. The Hokage gestured to a seat.

"Welcome to Konoha, stranger. What business do you have?"

The stranger tilted his head, and then took off his bucket hat. At first, Hiruzen thought that he was a monk, albeit a strangely dressed one. Then the stranger pulled down his mask. He watched as the pipe fell from the Hokage's mouth. He watched as the Hokage tried to dispel any genjutsus. Finally, the hokage resorted to pinching himself on the arm as hard as he could.

When Hiruzen finished making sure that it wasn't an illusion or a dream, he rushed up and hugged the stranger. Then he shot a stern look.

"Naruto? What are you doing back in Konoha?"

Naruto grinned sheepishly as he took out his notebook out of the seal, earning a look from Hiruzen.

"_I beginning to wonder what Kakashi has taught you."_

Finishing writing, Naruto showed Hiruzen his writing. From what the Hokage have seen, it was a bit childish, but readable. Done with his impromptu critique, he examined the words.

'Needed to settle down. So figured I come back."

At this, Hiruzen raised an eyebrow.

"Settle down? What do you mean by that?"

At that point, Naruto could only sigh as he took out a book. Handing it over, Hiruzen's jaw dropped as he looked at the cover. Despite its worn and ratty appearance, the old man could still tell it was a bingo book. Now leafing through it, his jaw extended lower and lower. Most of the bounties that seemed to be claimed were at least at the C rank level. However, there was the occasional B rank level. Closing the book, he handed it back to Naruto, who reached over and closed Hiruzen's mouth.

"You…have been chasing after missing nins alone, Naruto?"

Naruto shook his head, then held up two fingers.

"Not alone, you say? Well, what happened?"

Naruto set two fingers of each hand on the Hokage's desk. He then made a show of the two pairs of fingers moving walking in opposite directions. Seeing the frown on the old man's face, Naruto shook his hands and raised two thumbs, all while flashing a smile. Hiruzen could only assume that whoever Naruto worked with, they had left on good terms.

Leaning back into his seat, the Hokage nodded at Naruto.

"Well, Naruto, if this is truly what you wish, then I think I could sneak you into the Genin test, tomorrow. Normally, I would make you work your butt off. But seeing you managed to learn sealing, I have reason to be confident in your success. You can go now."

Smiling, Naruto bowed before donning his bucket hat and pulling the mask over his face. Before he completely walked away, Hiruzen stopped him.

"Naruto…"

The teenager turned to the old Hokage.

"Try and stop by Ichiraku's. They will be quite surprised to see their number one customer back."

Shooting the Hokage an eye smile and thumbs up, Naruto left the room. Breathing in, Hiruzen began to work on the paperwork. However, before his mind completely shut before the monotony, a thought crossed his head.

Wherever Naruto Uzumaki went, it was sure going to be interesting.

* * *

Walking through the village, it practically ignited nostalgia in Naruto as he passed through. In fact, it probably took five minutes for Naruto to walk a block. However, eventually all the reminiscing was brought to an end when a sweet aroma entered his nose. Sniffing and closing his eyes, he slowly closed his eyes and subconsciously began to follow the smell.

After a decade of cup ramen, all his brand loyalty was going to pay off in spades.

Ayame sighed as she tapped the counter with her finger. It was in the middle of the two rushes, and nothing but boredom came about when you ran a food stall and barely any customers came. Ayame looked at her father, who had also given in the boredom and was currently reading a newspaper. She glanced down before turning towards Teuchi to ask for a break.

Before the words could leap out of her mouth, the sound of knuckles tapping against counter filled the stall. Both Ichirakus turned to see a nearly bald teenager with a creepy mask holding up a menu. Teuchi put down his newspaper and straightened out his apron and hat. He then looked at the stranger.

"So what can I get you?"

The stranger swiveled his head in all directions, even ducked his head under the curtains. Satisfied that no one was around, he sat up straight and folded his hands. Then he held up five fingers, pointed to the counter in front of him, then jabbed the finger at himself.

Teuchi blinked and turned to Ayame, who was also stunned. Then they turned to the stranger, who by now had pulled off his mask, and waved them. With a shout and a grin, they both latched onto the stranger.

"NARUTO! You're back!"

Naruto smiled as the two Ichirakus began to hug and question him about his adventures.

* * *

Author's note:

Thank you for reading this chapter.

I guess you could call this a powerful Naruto story. Naruto, however, won't have a hundred jutsus under his belt. But he will try to use his jutsus in a more creative manner than just point and shoot…hopefully. Other than that, sighing off.


	3. Chapter 3

… Wow. Just wow. As of press time, this story had 13 reviews, 8 C2, 31 favorites, and 58 alerts in total. I just have to say thank you to those who have given this story so much love and this will be the last time you will hear of the story stats. Thank you.

Now to answer your questions.

To Ubernaut:

Yes, he is going to have another alias. Just to make sure…

To Twilight- The Moon Spirit:

I should really edit that part, because now in retrospect, he doesn't exactly fit the definition of powerful Naruto. Unless Powerful Naruto is defined as having a buttload of jutsu, but can still die and/or fail. Seriously, what are the differences between Godlike Naruto and Powerful Naruto?

Anyways, this Naruto will not exactly be a master, as in able to use jutsu without seals. What he will do is try to use his jutsu in combination with each other, sometimes doing something unexpected. So really it would be a little canon, but more refined (to a point.) Just go in and throw out all expectations. Trust me.

To People as Places:

Yeah, I think right now he could give people like Kakashi and Zabuza (yes, I'm going there, but for good reason) a really good workout that could leave them a little out of breath.

Also he won't have a grudge against Konoha, though the reason he returned wasn't exactly because he was loyal to the place…

To Tachi Kagahara and Vengenceonu:

Just to make sure…

Well, since all those questions have been answered, let's start this chapter.

Disclaimer: Ichiraku's closes for a day every time someone falsely claims they own Naruto. Think about it.

* * *

In Konohagakure, next in importance to the Hokage tower and Hokage monument, the ninja academy stood proudly. It was responsible for the education of many fine and legendary ninjas that have wrecked their havoc among the world. Now today, a new generation of ninjas will now grace the halls one last time as they are released into the world.

May Kami have mercy on their souls.

One such man whose thoughts revolved around this currently was walking through the halls toward his classroom. He wore a full body suit with bandages covering his ankles and the top part of his sandals. A red spiral adorned each shoulder of his sleeves. A green vest with a lot of pouches covered his chest area. His headband was tied around his forehead, straight and true.

His face was one of a caring man who would probably go out of his way to tell a kind word or two. His most distinctive mark was the scar he had across the bridge of his nose. His name was Iruka Umino, one of the instructors for the Ninja Academy, and also affectionately known as dolphin by his peers as dolphin.

Iruka sniffed, then sneezed into his sleeve. Grimacing at the mess on his sleeve, he took out a tissue from one of the pouches and wiped the mess clean. Throwing the tissue away in a nearby trash receptacle, he continued on his way.

As he neared his classroom, Iruka began to get depressed. He knew that today, the genin exams would start today. Iruka had essentially thought every one of his students to be precious, and would throw himself in the way if needed. It saddened him that at least half of them wouldn't pass the test. It saddened even more to see those who did make it have their dreams of glory and morality soon crushed by the real world, the shinobi world.

The scarred chunin then stood up straight with resolution as he walked. Well, he teached them as best as he could, and hopefully the less dedicated ones would walk out while they still could. Finally, he reached the doors that would lead into his classroom. Hearing the many voices of his students, he leaned against the door and cracked his neck. He breathed out as he entered the room.

Showtime.

* * *

Arata Michi surveyed the room that he was currently stuck, looking over his possible team mates. It certainly helped that he was seated in the uppermost corner of the room. It helped not give away his intentions.

He sighed as he took off his bucket hat and began to twirl it around his finger. It seemed that at least half of these students were practically coming to this place expecting some grand adventure with promises of fame and glory. However, he knew better, he had walked down that path before. And he certainly hoped that those who weren't up for it know that and get out as soon as they could. The shinobi world would eat those people, and even if you escaped it, you always left something hanging in its jaws.

He frowned as a memory made itself apparent. He saw a boy with his face obscured, shivering in the back of a tool shed. The boy looked up, only for two shadows to blot out the image. His eyebrows rised at the strange image, but thought no more of it.

Suddenly, the door moved open as a chunin with a prolific scar across his face entered the room. He picked up the clipboard on his desk and cleared his throat. He spoke with a soft, yet firm tone.

"Alright, settle down class."

Naruto looked around and saw that the noise was so loud; no one had heard the chunin. Turning back to the man, he sighed and began to work through some hand seals. Naruto quickly straightened himself out and plugged his ears, now confident that he was prepared for anything.

However, the chunin's head suddenly growing to enormous proportions and then shouting wasn't exactly the most predictable thing.

"SHUT IT, ALL OF YOU!"

The talk dried up as soon as the chunin shouted and began to greet the chunin. "Morning, Sensei Iruka."

Meanwhile, Naruto had tilted his head in confusion as one thought cycled itself through his head. "Dolphin?"

Iruka smiled as he looked up to his students. "Good morning class. Now, I know you have all been anticipating this day for quite a while, since it is the day you will get your headband and be recognized as official shinobi of the leaf."

With that, the students whooped and cheered, which Iruka silenced with a raise of his hand and a bow of his head. All the genin hopefuls were silent, for they have never heard their sensei talk like this. Then with a serious glint in his eyes, he stared into the class.

"As you all take this test, try to remember that the shinobi world is a ruthless world. There won't be any restraint because you are children. To that world, a kill is a kill, no matter how young. So please…try to remember that."

Seeing the class deathly silent, Iruka sighed as he looked at the clipboard he had in his hands.

Naruto nodded as he silently agreed with every single word. His attention was drawn once again as the scarred chunin cleared his throat.

"Alright, let's see who's here. Sakura Haruno?"

"Here!"

Naruto flinched as he looked to see a pink haired girl wearing a red dress and quite the sizeable forehead, raise her hand.

"Ino Yamanaka?"

"Here!"

A platinum blonde with light blue pupils, a dark purple top and skirt, and bandages adorning some of her limbs now answered the call. Seeing the glare emanating from the pink haired girl, and the smirk coming from the blonde, Naruto could only assume there was some bad blood between the two. However, when recognizing the Yamanaka clan heir, he instantly agreed to himself that if he had to choose, the Yamanaka would be one of his choices for a teammate. No offense to Sakura, but the only way she would be useful in a fight was if she bored the enemy to death with a lecture. It just wasn't practical.

"Shikamaru Nara?"

Naruto sweatdropped as the boy in question just snored loudly. He wore brown pants with a grey coat and a mesh undershirt, along with his hair in a pineapple shape. However, the blond wouldn't have put it past the Nara if he actually turned out capable.

"Choji Akimichi."

Gulp. "Here!"

Naruto leaned over to see a rotund brown haired male with spirals in his cheeks gobbling chips from a bag. Recalling some information, he promised himself never to call the Akimichi fat.

"Shino Aburame."

"Here."

A dark brown haired male, with form covering trench coat and sunglasses, answered in a quiet voice. Naruto stared until the Aburame heir turned his head to look at Naruto. Unsettled, but not scared, he raised a hand and waved. Shino made no visible movement and simply turned back.

"Kiba Inuzuka!"

"Where else would I be, sensei?"

Naruto frowned as he looked at the perpetrator. He wore a hood, red markings on each of his cheeks and a completely confident grin on his face. Also on top of the Inuzuka's head, lied a white puppy who Naruto could assume was his partner.

"Hinata Hyuuga."

"H-here."

Naruto turned to where the voice orginated only to be gobsmacked. He had seen many shock factors of many kunoichi, but the purple haired, paled eyed girl's was easily in his top ten. She wore a very skin tight white spandex suit with purple leg warmers and white bandages covering from her wrists to her knuckles.

He also noticed that she always seemed to fidget and play around with her clothes. Naruto frowned, swearing whoever probably forced her to wear those clothes would soon face his wrath.

* * *

Gai Maito smiled as he surveyed his team training. Tenten was currently throwing kunai into the bull eyes of each target, every single time. Neji Hyuuga currently was going through each of his jyuken stances. However, when he got to Rock Lee, he simply raised one of his enormous eyebrows. There was Lee simply staring in front of the training post, not even moving a muscle.

"LEE! What is this! Have your fountain of youth…" Gai began to sweat. "…dried up?"

Tenten and Neji stopped what they were doing to look at Lee with wonder. The boy simply looked to Gai, revealing equally large eye brows.

"No sensei, it is just that I just can't help the feeling that soon…"

The green spandex clad boy clenched his fist as fire began to burn in his eyes.

"I should soon find my own eternal rival!"

"Aren't I your eternal rival, Lee?" Neji asked with a raised eyebrow. Lee turned to Neji and promptly bowed.

"Yes, Neji, but I feel that that I soon find a rival that will rival you in qualities I would find in an eternal rival."

With that, Lee dramatically leaped on top of the training post and pointed to the sky.

"I may not know where or when I will meet you, but I swear I will find you, eternal rival! FOR MY NAME IS ROCK LEE, THE BEAUTIFUL GREEN WILD BEAST OF KONOHA!"

Tenten sweatdropped and turned to Gai. "Shouldn't you try and stop Lee?"

Suddenly, Gai kicked the post, leaving Lee falling onto his back. Standing up straight, he saluted. But he had on a look of confusion.

"Sensei?"

Gai put a hand to Lee's shoulder as he spoke.

"Lee, who knows? Perhaps your eternal rival is in the far reaches of the elemental nations or right around the corner. You will meet him, I am sure. But until then, why not keep yourself in shape for him or her?"

Lee saluted.

"Yes, I shall, Sensei. For this waste of valuable time, I will perform a thousand kicks for each leg and a thousand punches for each arm. If I cannot perform that, I will scale the Hokage monument with my legs and arms chained, dragging a person behind, as long as he/she is willing."

Gai grinned, the light reflecting from his teeth.

"That's the spirit, Lee. And let me remind you, I will gladly be that person scaling the monument with you, also sharing your burden."

The two stared at each other before both got teary eyed. Both hugged as out of nowhere, a sunset appeared.

"LEE!"

"SENSEI!"

* * *

Naruto suddenly got a deep feeling of foreboding, and began to shiver. He blanked out until another name caught his attention.

"Sasuke Uchiha."

"Hn."

There sat a very serious and taciturn teenager sitting in the front of the row. His black hair was shaped like a butt of a chicken. He had his hands folded as though he was silently weighing a life. Naruto then noticed nearly all the girls practically looking at the boy with hearts in their eyes. He then idly wondered if the only reason they joined the academy was to be close to their idol. Sighing, he leaned back in his chair.

"And I guess that's… hold on."

Peering closer to the clipboard and squinting his eyes, his eyes began to scan the room.

"Arata Michi?"

With that, a small paper airplane flew through the air and lodged itself into Iruka's hair. Taking it out, he unwrapped it to see only one word scribbled on it.

'Here.'

Quickly tracing the trajectory, he saw Naruto lounging in the corner. Everyone did likewise and saw a teenager around their age with a bucket hat, as well as a creepy looking mask. Some looked at him with curiosity, some looked at him with apprehension, some looked at him with anger dancing in their eyes, and some couldn't care less. Nodding, he put away his clipboard.

"Alright, now that we got that out of the way…"

Kiba slammed his hands on the desk as the dog leaped from his head.

"Sensei! You have got to be kidding me! We've been waiting for this for six years and you're telling me that this guy could just waltz in and take the genin test! That's...!"

At that moment, a finger tapped him on the shoulder. Turning around, he found himself staring into cerulean blue eyes that seemed to bore into him. Unsettled, but soon reverting into the alpha male instinct he had honed, he stared equally as hard. The tension was soon cut as Iruka cut in.

"Alright, enough of this. Arata, go back to your seat. Kiba, I'm sure that Arata had worked equally as hard to obtain whatever skills he has."

Kiba snorted only to see a paper fall to the desk. His dog partner, Akamaru, snatched it up and spat it into his waiting hands. Looking at the paper, he realized there were four words on it.

'Try to keep up.'

Kiba crumbled the paper and turned around to see Naruto giving him an eye smile and a wave. He growled before turning away. The whole class watched the scene as several of Sasuke's less dedicated fangirls immediately converted. Those who were still Sasuke fangirls glared hatefully at those they now regarded as heretics, Sakura and Ino the most spiteful. Those who were male in the room began to plot both the demise of Sasuke Uchiha and Arata Michi. Iruka slapped a hand over his eyes in irritation.

"Okay, please clear your tables so we can have the written portion."

At least half of the students groaned as they got ready.

* * *

Naruto frowned as he sat back in his chair, oblivious to the gazes of his new fan base. He sighed as he looked back on his performance on the written portion of the exam. While Kakashi had done well to teach him in the ways of shinobi and communication, Konoha's history and shinobi code he hadn't done so well. With any luck, he'll pass, but not before being branded as the dead last. Snorting, he sighed as Kiba exited the testing room, grinning like a maniac and clutching his headband.

Iruka poked his head out of the door, and gestured to Naruto. The blonde stood up, adjusted his bucket hat, and began to walk to the door. Before he could exit the front row, a hand grabbed his shoulder. Looking at its owner, he saw Hinata looking to him. Raising an eyebrow, he showed his confusion as she chose her words.

"G-good luck Arata."

Hinata looked up as she saw Naruto's face morph into what she could assume was an appreciative smile. Walking past her, before he entered the room, the blonde turned around to look at the class, but more importantly Hinata. His right hand lifted up and morphed into a thumbs up. As he entered the room, he failed to notice the dreamy states he had just put on his fangirls.

* * *

Walking into an empty room, he saw he wasn't exactly empty as a desk laden with headbands was in front. Behind it, Iruka along with another silver haired chunin sat, watching the genin hopeful walk to the center of the room with his hands in his pockets. Seeing Naruto stand there, obviously expecting something, Iruka took the initiative.

"Arata Michi, welcome to the taijutsu and ninjutsu portion of the genin exam. Here we will test your abilities and determine whether you are genin material. First is the taijutsu portion. Here you will spar with Mizuki here…" Iruka said, while pointing to the other chunin.

"And you will be expected to spar with him for 30 seconds. If you get three falls in that period, you will have failed this portion."

At that, Naruto nodded as Mizuki strode forward. Taking a stance, he watched as Naruto cracked his neck then moved into a stance that seemed to be a refinement of the brawler. His feet were slightly apart, his left foot slightly behind. His fists were moving slightly in front of his face and it while the upper part of his torso leaned forward. He was bouncing on the balls of his feet as his fists began to clench.

Watching this, Iruka shouted. "BEGIN!"

With that, Mizuki ran forward and threw a punch at Naruto's face. Naruto also threw a punch, and Iruka nearly held his breath for the forthcoming impact. Instead, Naruto's fist became a palm as he turned the punch straight up into the air. Mizuki grunted as he began to twist his body, and tensed his leg for a roundhouse kick.

Sensing something, Naruto ducked and stepped toward the chunin, and threw an uppercut aimed for the gut. Mizuki blocked it only to see a fist heading towards his head. He lifted his hand to block the fist, only for it to impact against his unprotected side. Naruto only pushed the fist deeper, until he forced Mizuki back.

Stumbling back, he glared at Naruto only for the blonde to leap into the air and land on his foot. Seeing him grunt in pain, Naruto's left hook then smashed into Mizuki's cheek. The silver haired chunin fell ungracefully to his behind, experimentally moving his jaw to see that it isn't broken.

Grunting, he flipped onto his feet and resumed his position. Mizuki glared as he was prepared to charge Naruto again. At that point, Iruka stepped into the middle of the two and held up his hands.

"Mizuki, Arata, calm down. The taijutsu portion is over. Mizuki, help me grade the ninjutsu portion please."

The chunin in question frowned, but otherwise sat in the chair and leaned over, glaring at Arata. Arata could only wave to ease the tension. Iruka cleared his throat.

"Alright, Arata, for the ninjutsu portion, you must perform the Bunshin and successfully form three. Got it?"

Iruka then shouted out a command, seeing the bucket hat move up and down rapidly. "Perform!"

Quickly, Naruto formed a seal the shape of a cross and began to focus his chakra. Suddenly, he was obscured by smoke. Waiting for the smoke to clear up, it lifted for the two academy teachers to have their jaws dropped. There standing before them was three other clones of Arata. What really got them was the poses they were in.

One had his arms crossed across his chest, one was cracking his knuckles, one looked at them glaring at them, and one was sitting away from them Indian style, seemingly muttering to himself. Hearing Iruka clear his throat, Naruto noticed the two and quickly saluted, as the other three following suit. Mizuki and Iruka looked at each other, before Iruka grabbed one of the headbands and held it out to him.

* * *

Naruto, twiddling with the headband, walked out of the academy's doors. However, crowding the entrance were a whole lot of proud parents, congratulating their children for making genin. His jubilant mode was dampened that he didn't have a mother or a father to congratulate and praise him for his accomplishments.

However, he soon wiped a nonexistent tear for his face as he began to berate himself for being an idiot. True, he didn't have parents, but that didn't mean he should forget what he did have. He had the old man, the Ichirakus, and as soon as he could find him, Kakashi. Nodding to himself, he rushed off, but before that, he noticed something.

One of the students that failed was sitting forlornly in the swing when one of the academy teachers, Mizuki if he remembered correctly, walked up to him and began to talk. Whatever Mizuki said, it cheered the student up. Nodding and silently approving, he rushed off to tell the people he valued the good news.

* * *

Returning to training ground seven, Naruto sighed as he climbed the tree he had called bed for the past two days. He didn't exactly feel like spending money on a hotel, or mooching off the hokage. Anyways, he wasn't able to find the masked jonin, but then again the Ichirakus' ramen celebration kind of made him lose track of time.

Reasoning that he would probably meet Kakashi somewhere in the team selections tomorrow, he yawned as he leaned against the trunk. Naruto then fell into merciful sleep and peaceful dreams.

* * *

The blond sighed as he leaned back in his comfy chair. It was certainly good to be Hokage. Sure there was the paperwork, but that was nothing that a few Kage Bunshins can't handle. Suddenly, there was a knock on his door.

"Come in. The door's open."

With that, Ayame opened the door with a big bowl of steaming ramen.

"Ichiraku's delivery service!"

At that, Naruto sat up straight and began to rub his hands in anticipation.

"Wow, that took a while. 20 minutes I believe…"

Ayame rolled her eyes.

"Come on, Naruto, you know ever since the stand became mainstream, we had to adjust."

At this, Naruto wiped a nonexistent tear from his eye, leaving Ayame to smile.

"Come on, Naruto, no matter how you or we change, you'll always be our number one customer."

Naruto smiled back and handed a big wad of money.

"Then allow me to act like your number one customer."

Ayame bowed as she took the money.

"Thank you for the gift, Lord Hokage."

Naruto smiled as he stood up.

"In fact, let me offer another token of my brand loyalty."

With that, Naruto gave a vicious uppercut to the iwa nin, which flew out of the tower and into the nearby forest. The blond took the time to stand next to the hole and shout.

"When you impersonate my precious ones, try not to bow!"

With that, he sat and pressed a button. An Anbu with a monkey mask appeared in the room and bowed.

"Please check and make sure of one Ayame Ichiraku's condition."

Nodding, the Anbu disappeared, leaving Naruto to mourn as he disposed of the ramen. Sighing, he leaned his face against a fist, wiping tears from his eyes. Suddenly, his vision went black as two hands covered them.

"Guess who?"

Naruto grinned.

"Hmm…care to enlighten?"

The hands began to shift, leaving one hand on his face while the other grabbed his other hand. Naruto felt the weight of a body sitting on his lap as well as the groan from the chair. He then began to feel the breath of someone leaning over to his lips.

"Here's something to remember me by."

Naruto smiled and also began to lean in too. Suddenly…

_**"Hey, Kit!"**_

Suddenly everything disappeared, the chair, the office, the girl, as Naruto lost his balance, falling into knee deep water. Blinking, he lifted his hand and watched the water flow down from his hand. Gritting his teeth, he stood up and began to walk a route that had become routine to him.

Finally, he entered a room that had an enormous cage in it. The opening of the cage had a paper that read seal on it. Standing in front of it, Naruto shouted.

"Alright, what do you want, ya dumb fox?"

Two giant red eyes opened as a set of razor sharp teeth of the same size twisted into a sinister grin.

"_**You will remember to treat your superiors with the proper, you insolent whelp."**_

Naruto smirked.

"Well, guess what? To me, you are a responsibility entrusted to me by the Yondaime Hokage to keep under lock and key. And if there is anything that Naruto Uzumaki is known, it's keeping his promises."

The beast snorted.

"_**Please, what do you owe that man anyways? If you recall, he's the one who essentially left you in this spot."**_

Naruto snorted in response.

"Even if I don't owe anything to the Yondaime, holding a destroyer of Konoha is still important. Oh, you know what? Forget this; I'm getting some fresh air. But before I go…"

* * *

Waking up and hearing his prisoner scream in agony as he listened to the musical styling of Barney, Naruto chuckled as he leapt from the tree onto the ground. However, hearing the bushes rustle, he crouched and watched as a figure leapt from the trees and in the middle of the clearing. The figure scanned around, seeming to make sure that no one was there to see him or her. Then satisfied by the silence, the figure took a giant scroll tied around his back and began to read.

Naruto then sneaked up from behind and chopped the back of the neck. The figure collapsed, leaving Naruto to look over what he was looking. A frown appeared, as he looked over and confirmed that the scroll was the scroll of seals. Most of the village's forbidden techniques were archived in this scroll, and it would have been a disaster if it fell into the wrong hands.

Rolling the boy over to confirm the identity of the assailent, Naruto gulped as he took in the face's features. It was the failed student on the swing, the one that was talking to… Suddenly, the student's reaction was understandable. Still, it was a shock that an academy student, a failed one no less, managed to sneak into the Hokage Tower and steal one of the most zealously guarded secrets.

Quickly, the blond memorized the teenager's features, then performed henge. As the smoke cleared, Naruto was now disguised as the student. Quickly hiding the unconscious body in the nearby bushes, he assumed an unassuming position as he waited.

Right as he expected, Mizuki came out of the woods, wearing a headband bandanna combination and well as two giant shurikens strapped to his back. The smile that came reminded Naruto of a snake.

"My, what a wonderful job you did. Please hand me the scroll so that I can confirm your promotion."

Slightly bowing as he took the scroll off his back, he handed it to Mizuki. Lightly checking over it, the silver haired chunin nodded as he confirmed it.

"Congratulations, this truly proves your worth. Let it be said today that you are now officially promoted to…"

Mizuki's smile turned sinister. Suddenly, the chunin's hands were at his side, one holding the scroll, the other holding a shuriken. Mizuki didn't even acknowledge the body that had now fallen to the ground. Smirking, he restrapped the shuriken to his back and held the scroll in front of his face, his eyes now a mix of lust and insanity.

"…A corpse in the forest. Hope you're happy wherever you went, kid. Hehehe..."

Mizuki then prepared to jump away when he felt something grab his ankles. Looking down in horror, he saw two hands coming out of the ground, firmly clasped around his ankles. Mizuki tried to get away, but could only scream as he was dragged under.

The scroll dropped and rolled near Mizuki's face. Growling, Mizuki furiously tried everything to escape the partial burial that had him up to his neck. Suddenly, a shadow fell upon him, and he looked up to see the academy student bending over and grabbing the scroll. Mizuki snarled as a fresh bout of struggling overtook him.

"Curse you! Let me go! I'll make sure you're dead!"

With that, Naruto dropped his henge, revealing himself to Mizuki. The chunin's eyes widened for a bit, before narrowing his eyes and screaming at the top of his lungs.

"Curse you, Arata Michi! CURSE YOU TO HELL!"

"I think I've seen enough. How about you two?"

Suddenly, Mizuki was surrounded by two Anbu, one wearing a cat mask, the other an otter. Both dug Mizuki out, and the cat Anbu chopped the back of the neck, leaving Mizuki unconscious. The two Anbu then disappeared in a swirl of leaves, leaving Naruto alone with the Hokage.

Hiruzen held out his hand for the scroll, which Naruto seemed to pout and point to the scroll. Hiruzen nodded, and Naruto sighed as he handed the scroll over. Nodding at the veracity of the scroll, he stared at Naruto, who was climbing up the tree.

"Naruto, please tell me you haven't been sleeping there for the past two days."

The genin quickly wrote something in his notebook, then ripped off the paper and threw it towards Hiruzen.

Grabbing it, Hiruzen quickly looked over the words inscribed.

'Okay, I wasn't.'

Sighing, the old Hokage gestured.

"Naruto, come. We are finding you a hotel."

The look in the old man's eyes told him there was no room for compromise.

* * *

Naruto Movelist (Currently, and by order of appearance):

Shunshin

Kage Bunshin

Kawarimi

Doton: Moguragakure (Earth Release: Hiding like a mole)

Doton: Shinju Zanshu (Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation)

Well, this was the longest chapter I have rolled out for this story so far. See you later.


	4. Chapter 4

Hmm… after some thought, Fu will appear around the wave arc, as well as Naruto's old bounty hunter buddy. And it just might surprise you.

Questions?

To GoldenGod Rah:

Oh…hehe don't you just love unintended humor? It's the best kind of humor out there!

To silentdragon2k8:

Answered one question… Why didn't Naruto go to Takigakure? Why would he even want to go there?

To Twilight- The Moon Spirit:

… No offense, but no. Actually, truth be told, that was just some random girl put in there just for Naruto to get some action. And even before that, it was Sakura who was considered for the part… Just wanted to put that out there.

Alright, let's start this puppy.

Disclaimer: As much as we all hate to admit it, Masashi Kishimoto owns Naruto.

* * *

The sun shined through the clouds as they lit up the village of Konoha. The birds tweeted as they fluttered their wings through the sky. Flowers bloomed, shadows stretched and all was tranquil. Not a single soul was awake, because there was not an alarm clock anywhere to be found.

"LEE!"

"SENSEI!"

Of course, who needs an alarm clock when you had Gai Maito and Rock Lee?

* * *

Naruto yawned as he laid his head down on his desk. He waited as well as the rest of the genin for their team placements. Naruto tried his best not to hope for anyone, because fate just seemed to be a cruel to him.

"Oi! You!"

Naruto cracked an eye open to see a frowning Kiba leaning over and glaring at him. After appraising the Inuzuka for a while, Naruto closed his eye, feigning the appearance of sleep. Kiba wasn't amused.

"So you managed to pass the test, huh? Well no matter, when I find a good enough excuse…"

Naruto simply jabbed a finger into Kiba's gut. Grunting in discomfort, he leaned over, and then promptly lost his balance as Naruto pushed him again. Tumbling over the steps, Kiba landed on his back with his rear end hanging up.

Raising a fist and pointing up, he shouted "Now I've found my reason!"

At last, Iruka walked through the doors with a clipboard in his hands. The class held their breath as the scarred chunin held up the clipboard.

"Alright, settle down."

He sighed as he partook of all of his students' face.

"To those who are now genin, congratulations." _'Or good luck.'_ Iruka thought bitterly. Checking over the checklist, he instantly knew that some folks would be happy with their team placements, and some…not so much.

"Alright, I will be calling out your names in groups of three and those will be your teammates. If you don't your placements, then take it up with the Hokage. Alright, here we go…"

Naruto still had his head down, eyes beginning to droop. His ears then began to pick up something. Picking his head up, he saw Iruka calling out some names.

"Team 7: Sasuke Uchiha…"

With that, half of the girls tensed, while Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Sakura Haruno…"

With that, nearly all of the Sasuke fangirls slumped in their seats in depression as the pink haired girl began to dance in her seat.

"And Arata Michi…"

With that, all the dejected Sasuke fangirls were joined in depression by the dejected Arata fangirls. Sasuke raised his hand. Iruka raised an eyebrow before answering.

"Yes, Sasuke?"

"Sensei, I would like to know about Arata Michi's performance in the exam."

"Sasuke, I'm afraid…"

"Come sensei, Sasuke just wants to know!"

With that, the room was filled with fangirls and one Inuzuka demanding Iruka to tell about the strange teenager's performance. Looking at Naruto, he simply got a gesture that practically screamed I don't care. Iruka sighed as he flipped through his notes.

"Well, Arata is currently the dead last due to what I think is near nonexistent knowledge of Konoha's history and the shinobi code…"

With that, Sasuke brooded at the thought of dead weight on his team, while Sasuke fangirls began to jeer the Arata fangirls.

"However, his physical portion more than made up for it. I won't tell about the ninjutsu portion, but his taijutsu was amazing. His record was ten seconds, ten less than Sasuke's. What was even more amazing was the fact that he had never even thrown a kick, and used only his fists."

At that Arata fangirls felt vindicated as Sasuke fangirls willed Sasuke to start beating the stuffing out of Naruto. Sasuke simply looked at Naruto with an interested look in his eye. Some fangirls' minds temporarily fell in the gutter.

"Team 8: Shino Aburame, Hinata Hyuuga, and Kiba Inuzuka."

Shino simply adjusted his glasses, Hinata began to tug at her sleeves, and Kiba simply brightly smiled as he looked at the Hyuuga heir. Suddenly a paper airplane flew through the air and stuck itself into Kiba's hair. Taking it out and reading it, there was only one word scribbled on there.

'Perv.'

The Inuzuka heir glared at Naruto, who only shrugged.

"Team 9 is currently in circulation, so Team 10 is Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimchi, and Ino Yamanaka."

Ino began to cry, Choji began to eat his chips like they were going to disappear, and Shikamaru just snored louder. Iruka sweat dropped as he put away his clipboard.

"Alright, come after lunch and you will have your…"

Suddenly, the door opened and Iruka turned to look at the visitor.

"My, Kakashi, you're early."

The silver haired jonin scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah, well I had errands to do, passing by, I figured why not?"

Everyone stared at the jonin before them. He wore the regular male jonin uniform, vest and all, but the things that captured their interest was his gravity defying silver hair and the mask that covered up the lower half of his face. The whole class looked at Naruto, then at Kakashi, then promptly shrugged, dismissing as coincidence.

"Alright, enough staring. Team 7, with me. I need to get a few things."

* * *

Five minutes later, Kakashi with the newly designated team 7 were walking in the streets, drawing curious glances. Seeing his genin students looking at him curiously, he waited until they got to the grocery center. As he got the basket and walked down the aisle, Kakashi began to speak.

"Alright, since this is a team, we should all understand each other. So one by one, each of you should introduce yourself to the others."

Suddenly, Sakura spoke up.

"But sensei, we hardly know anything about you! Why don't you start?"

Kakashi, by then, had moved into the shelves, and was comparing egg brands. Sakura felt dejected, Sasuke felt like more brooding and Naruto was simply shaking his head ruefully. When the jonin decided on the brand of eggs he wanted, he put them into his basket and began to walk again. Although the basket was hanging off the elbow as his hand was stroking his chin.

"Well, my name is Kakashi Hatake. My likes…I like lots of things. Same with my dislikes. And my dreams… I tell you when I feel like it."

Sasuke and Sakura looked at each other and sweat dropped.

'_The only thing we learned was his name.' _

Only Naruto chuckled.

'_Good old Kakashi.'_

"Alright, I believe the term is ladies first."

Sakura slightly flushed before clearing her throat.

"My name is Sakura. My likes…"

Glancing at Sasuke, she giggled. A chill went up Sasuke's spine.

"My dislikes are Ino-pig and…"

Glancing at Naruto, she shook her head.

"Actually, just Ino-pig. And my dreams are…"

Glancing at both of her male teammates, the giggling fit that followed turned her face pink. Sasuke and Naruto glanced at each with fright as chills ran up their spines like a marathon. Kakashi pitied the poor teenagers, they were probably scarred.

"Alright, Sakura. I have a question."

The pinkette simply stood up straight as she began to think up responses to any question her sensei might ask her. Then Kakashi held up two cartons of milk.

"Which one should I get? Skim or whole?"

The aisle shook as the genin face vaulted. When the three stood back up, Sakura was scratching the back of her head. She just didn't that kind of question. Man she got a weird sensei.

"I guess…skim would be good."

Kakashi's visible eyebrow raised itself as he stared at the milk. After a few moments, he shrugged and put the whole back on the counter and the skim into his basket.

"Milk is milk, either way. Alright, tall, dark and broody, you're next."

Sasuke bristled at the nickname Kakashi gave him, but continued anyway.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I don't have time for likes, but I'm beginning to dislike a select few people."

Seeing Kakashi and Naruto nod at him, yet Sakura look at him with cluelessness, he sighed and continued on.

"My dreams aren't dreams…there's ambitions. In order for my clan to be truly reborn, their honor must be reclaimed. For that to happen, a certain man must perish by my hand."

Sakura had stars in her eyes, Kakashi signed, and Naruto felt really awkward. After a few moments of awkward silence, they were at the checkout line.

"Finally, my cousin, twice removed."

Naruto simply wrote on a piece of paper. Once he was done, he handed it out to the group. When Kakashi got it, this was what he read.

'Name's Arata Michi. I like lots of stuff too, ramen and punching bags are some of them. I don't like unneeded violence, as well as people who like that kind of stuff. And my dream is to eventually find a reason.'

Kakashi looked up from the paper at Naruto, who simply stared back. Nodding, Kakashi handed the paper back to Naruto and simply nodded to him. Taking the groceries and exiting the store, he turned to the three genin.

"Alright, now that's out of the way, report to training ground seven for your final test."

Hearing this, Sakura practically erupted.

"SENSEI! What do you mean by final test! We already passed the genin test!"

Naruto and Sasuke were unfortunate enough to be standing next to her, and were now clutching their ears in pain. Kakashi was simply picking his ear, as if he was just cleaning. Flicking any imaginary particle off, he turned to the three, with amusement written on his face.

"First off, Sakura, try to scream less. Second, the genin tests were set to determine those who have the skills to be genin. I will determine whether you can use those skills. If that is all, I'll be off."

Kakashi was about to use shunshin until remembered something.

"Oh yeah! I almost forgot! Don't eat breakfast tomorrow. Okay?"

With that, Kakashi disappeared within a swirl of leaves. Sasuke stared at the spot, then left. Sakura ran after Sasuke to ask for a date. Naruto blinked then with curiosity, he picked up the leaves and realized they had words on them.

'Meet me at Ichiraku's. Have much to tell.'

Smiling, he blew the leaves into the wind and walked off.

* * *

"Ah, Naruto. I am kind of hurt that you didn't look harder for me."

Naruto slurped up his noodles as he looked at Kakashi wiping a fake tear from his eye. Naruto rolled his eyes as he slid a note to Kakashi. Picking it up, the silver haired jonin read it.

'You could have made it easier to find you.'

Kakashi set down the paper and eye smiled at the blonde.

"True, but what fun is that?"

Naruto frowned but nodded his head in agreement. Kakashi finished his ramen and stared at Naruto.

"So I heard that you became a bounty hunter."

Naruto stopped mid slurp, but bobbled his head.

"So anything else interesting happened?"

Naruto looked at Kakashi as he set down his bowl of ramen. Producing another paper that was written on, he gave it to Kakashi.

'Took on an apprentice.'

Kakashi nodded.

"Ah, decided to pass on the experience. So where is he now?"

Naruto shrugged as he gestured for Kakashi to turn the paper over.

'Don't know. Pretty sure we left on good terms.'

Kakashi looked at him then slapped down some money.

"I hope you trained him well, Naruto. Well, I'll be off. See you tomorrow."

As Kakashi walked, Naruto finished off his soup and was silently sitting in his chair. He stroked an old picture of him at least two years younger and a black haired ten year old on his back. Both were smiling and had bits of ice cream on their lips.

'_Hope you're okay little brother.'_

* * *

Kakashi appeared within a poof of smoke inside training area seven.

"Good morning!" He shouted with an eye smile. Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto looked up from their individual positions and sat up. Seeing as he had their attention, he held up two bells.

"Alright, here's the test: you must take these bells before noon. If you don't get a bell, you will have two things happen to you. One, you will be tied to a post over there and watch me and any other people that got a bell eat lunch."

Each of their stomachs grumbled, which was ineffectively silenced with a slap on their stomachs.

"The second thing is that you will be sent back to the academy for one more year."

With that, Sasuke and Sakura's eyes widened. Naruto's, on the other hand, simply narrowed.

'_What's your game, Kakashi?'_

Kakashi, undaunted by his students' myriad of reactions, simply tied the bells around his waist.

"Alright, if you feel ready, GO!"

With that, Naruto and Sakura disappeared, leaving only Sasuke in the field. Tilting his head in confusion, he looked around for the others.

"Only you? What about the others?"

Sasuke just dropped into the Uchiha taijutsu stance and stared at Kakashi. It was time to see just how good his sensei compared to him.

Meanwhile, Sakura was staring with stars as Sasuke dodged a kick and threw out a punch, which Kakashi caught.

'_Go Sasuke, this has you written all over it!'_

'_YEAH! GO SASUKE! GO SASUKE! IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY!'_

'_HEY, you ain't getting out so easy!'_

_Getting out a bottle of pills, she took one pill out and swallowed it. _

'_Inner me, THE POWER OF PILLS REJECTS YOU!'_

'_NO!'_

As Inner Sakura's voice disappeared, Sakura smiled.

'_Ah…music to my ears.'_

Suddenly, Sakura's ears picked up scribbling. Looking to her left, she saw Naruto laying on his stomach, the pencil near his paper almost a blur. Leaning over, she saw that what was on the notebook was…

…calculations for trajectory?

Before Sakura could ask what the calculations were for, Naruto set down his pencils and double checked his notes. Nodding, he took out a scroll and rolled it out. Focusing some chakra through the scroll, a mattress appeared out in a cloud of smoke. Placing it in a certain area, Naruto switched into a crouch. Sakura looked up to him and mouthed.

'What are you doing?'

Naruto simply held up three finger, then closed one, closed the second, then…

"SENNEN GOROSHI!"

"AUGH!"

Sakura jumped as she saw a black blur heading towards the mattress. Colliding against it, Sasuke bounced off and landed into some nearby bushes. Gasping, the pinkette dragged Sasuke onto the bed. As she did so, she glared at Naruto, who simply shrugged. Sighing, she turned back to Sasuke who was now shivering.

"S-Sakura. I-I think I-I've been v-violated."

At that moment, every Sasuke fangirl got an urge to track down a certain masked silver haired jonin in his lates 20s and give him an impromptu rectum examination…with a carjack. At that same moment, Kakashi shivered and automatically started making plans to barricade his house.

While Sasuke was busy trying to get over his own impromptu rectum exam, Naruto turned to Sakura. Passing a note to Sakura, he simply stood back and waited for her reaction.

'I believe this would be a time to team up.'

Sakura looked incredulously at Naruto. "What do you mean? I bet you could give Kakashi a run for his money." Sasuke nodded in agreement with his number one fan girl. Naruto mentioned for Sakura to turn the paper over.

'We are starving and running low on energy while Kakashi probably had a hardy breakfast. I think teaming up would be the best course.'

Sasuke glared at Naruto.

"Dobe, what's the point? One of us is going back anyway."

Naruto simply threw another note onto Sasuke's lap.

'Better some of us than none of us. So, you in?'

Sasuke sighed. As much as he hated to admit, he had to team up. He really wanted to make sure that he didn't get that second opinion.

"Alright, I'm in."

* * *

"Hmm… I wonder where those three could be?"

Kakashi had now taken out a book titled Icha Icha Paradise and was reading it before he noticed not one of his genin was jumping out on him.

'_Probably waiting for the Uchiha to get over it…hehehe.'_

A wave of killing intent washed over him, and he shivered.

'_Note to self: never mention that to anyone or even to oneself.'_

Suddenly, the bushes began to rustle. Kakashi sensed this and quickly packed the book away. Suddenly, out of the foliage burst dozens of Sasukes and Narutos. Kakashi quickly crouched and tried to sweep kick one Sasuke coming after him, only for his leg to meet air. The Sasuke sidestepped to reveal a Naruto's knee heading towards him. Kakashi threw up his hands in conditioned response, only to gasp as his forearms met flesh. Quickly throwing the clone, it sailed through the air and collided with a Sasuke, turning both into smoke.

This didn't go noticed by Kakashi, who had to applaud the tactic.

'Clever. Using clones and shadow clones in combination to throw off an enemy's perception. Though I do think this will only work on chunins and genins.'

As Kakashi dodged through the storm of limbs, he couldn't help but feel that there was something wrong.

'Why hasn't anyone attacked me?'

Suddenly, all the clones disappeared in a puff of smoke, as Kakashi covered his eyes. As he opened them, he realized that all three genins were now present. Sasuke was crouched and had was near Sakura, who was panting as she clutched something near her chest. Naruto was simply coming out of the ground and had his zipper opened.

Kakashi squinted at what Sakura had in her hands. His eyes widened as he fished around his pack, only to feel nothing. The smirks and grins could only grow wider. Finally, the jonin's hands fell to his sides, as Kakashi chuckled nervously.

"Alright, w-what do you w-want?"

Sasuke spoke.

"Your choice, sensei, it's the bells or…" Sasuke let the threat hang ominously. Kakashi shook his hands.

"C-come on, S-Sasuke! Let's be reasonable here!"

While Sasuke and Sakura enjoyed Kakashi's plight, the mask hid Naruto's nervousness.

'Why do I get the feeling that I should be worried? Unless…'

Eyes widening, he turned and pushed Sasuke and Sakura off to the side. Tumbling over and regaining their balance, both of them looked up to hear a shout.

"DOTON: SHINJU ZANSHU!"

With that, Naruto was dragged under to his neck while Kakashi popped from the ground.

Sasuke could only growl at his perceived incompetence.

'Idiot! I let my guard down!'

Sakura could only stare.

'Arata just sacrifared himself…for us…'

'HEH! I'M PRETTY SURE SASUKE WOULD HAVE GOTTEN US OUT OF THAT! ARATA PROBABLY JUST WANTED TO BE THE HERO!'

'Shut it! I was being appreciative!'

Kakashi stood in front of Naruto.

"I have to commend your sacrifice there, Arata. You were quite courageous."

Suddenly, Naruto simply spat out two small objects towards Sakura and Sasuke. Catching them, the two genins opened their palms to reveal a bell. Kakashi, seeing them, looked to his hip only to see two strings where the bells used to be attached. Just then, the clock rang.

* * *

Naruto was tied to one post, while Sasuke and Sakura sat on the side. Kakashi just stood there, a smile on his face.

'They performed the letter of the test, let's see if they got the spirit.'

As he thought, Kakashi clapped.

"Well done, Sakura, Sasuke. You got a bell, so therefore you pass. But for you, Arata, I'm afraid…"

Suddenly, Sasuke spoke up.

"Sensei, I thought we were already done with the tests."

Kakashi tilted his head at Sasuke's strange statement.

"I am done; you two passed."

Sakura, feeling bolstered by Sasuke, spoke up.

"But sensei, this entire test has been about nothing but us working together. You can't mean that after the effort you made to bring us together, you planning to tear us apart?"

Sasuke stared evenly at Kakashi.

"Also, there has never been a two man genin ever in the history of Konoha; and before you say there are exceptions, I will answer with a few words. In the shinobi world, an unnecessary risk is a unneeded risk."

Kakashi smiled.

"Finally…"

All three genins took still at Kakashi's word. His head bowed as he recalled.

"You know, I have a profound saying. In the shinobi world, those who break the rules are trash…"

Kakashi lifted his head, showing Team 7 his eye smile.

"…But those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash. I guess I have nothing to do but say…"

Kakashi showed a thumbs up.

"Congratulations, Team 7, you passed!"

Kakashi had to stop himself from smiling at the myriad of effects those words had.

* * *

Author's note:

Okay, after some deliberation, I decided that I could use a beta reader. Why? I don't exactly think that my grammar is that up to scratch. If you like to volunteer, or unlike you would like to tell me why I don't need one, then please leave a review. Please and thank you!


	5. Chapter 5

Okay, this chapter should be where the fun stuff happens. You guessed it, FIGHT SCENES!

But before that, we have to go to questions.

To Twilight- The Moon Spirit:

Yeah… I guess so. Sorry, but don't worry! There's about 11,345 other alternate universes where they get together, or appear together on the tagline!

To AnimeFan55:

0_0…

Looks like I need to add a key or something.

Also, let me give a shout out to whoever else reviewed!

Lazruth (I think about it ;-) ) Bright26 (thank you), imgonnadie (thank you also), big-smexy (someone gave a reaction to Naruto's mask), Lost in the night (thank you for your wonderful advice), kibazu (Hope you were enjoying them ), and Cloud303 (here's more ;-) ).

Now, without any further ado, here's the chapter!

Key

Normal

SHOUTING/JUTSU

'Writing'

'_Thoughts'_

Flashback

"_**tailed beast talk"**_

'_**tailed beast thought'**_

…Good enough.

Kakashi giggled as he sat on a rock surrounded by the forest. His eyes greedily drank in every word inscribed in the book. Then he felt something crawl down his nose, quickly looking to the left and then the right, Kakashi quickly pulled down his mask, wiped the blood off and pulled up his mask, all within three seconds. Then he began to giggle.

"Sensei…"

Jumping off the rock and stuffing the book into his pack, he turned around to find his genin team looking at him with near unrestrained anger. Their target, a cat with a bow on its head was strangely quiet, if all their past missions with it were to be indicated. Then he noticed that Naruto was glaring at the cat, as the cat shook every little bit as it sank deeper into Sakura's hug. Sakura was glaring at Naruto as she hugged the cat tighter, while Sasuke seemed to watch the scene impassively, yet Kakashi caught the glint of amusement in his eyes. Turning to Naruto, Kakashi made a show of raising his visible eyebrow.

"Arata? Are you using killing intent on that cat?"

Naruto glared at Kakashi then back at the cat, which withered under his gaze. Kakashi sighed as he turned around.

_'I guess I can call this mission a success.'_

"OH TIGER! I WAS SO WORRIED! THANK YOU FOR BRINGING BACK TIGER! HE MEANS THE WORLD TO ME!"

The group sweat dropped except for Naruto as he silently laughed at the cat as the fire lord's wife gave it another squeeze. After a few more sobs of relief and bone crushing hugs, she gave the mission payment and began to walk away. As the fire lord's wife walked past Naruto, Naruto glared at the cat again, making it shiver.

Kakashi noticed this and placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder. The blond looked at Kakashi, and then sighed as he stared forward. The hokage finished chuckling at the scene as he picked up the papers and straightened them out.

"Good work on that mission, team 7. Now there is still so more jobs for you to do…"

Naruto had by then finished writing a note and handed it to Kakashi. Kakashi looked at Naruto with an incredulous look, yet decided to oblige. Clearing his throat, the jonin began to read.

"No no no. I know I speak for everyone that we are tired of these D- rank missions. I graciously plead for a C-rank. Pretty please with a cherry on top."

Naruto was frothing at the mouth as Sakura and Sasuke held back his hands. The other members of team 7 looked at each other. Though they weren't friends, they were at least close enough to cooperate together. Then again that exercise with the handcuffs had worked wonders.

"Well…I guess if you all wish to, I can give this C-rank mission. Do you want it?"

Naruto eagerly shook his head, while Sasuke took his time before nodding. Sakura, not wanting to appear to be a coward in the eyes of her idol, shook her head in agreement before she could lose her nerve. Kakashi looked at his team and sighed.

"Looks like we all accept this mission."

Hiruzen nodded and turned to the side door.

"Let him in."

With that, the sliding door opened to reveal an old man holding a sake bottle. He wore a very shabby looking sleeveless shirt and short pants. A piece of rope was tied around his forehead, while his hair was completely grey. Finally, dull uninterested eyes gazed at the group before introducing himself.

"Hmm… I have to admit, you runts don't exactly threatening, even that creepy floppy hat wearing wannabe."

A flash of wind shot up, and the old man eyes' widened at the fist hovering a few inches from smashing right into his face. Once the fist was removed, the old man smirked before raising the sake bottle to his lips.

"Not bad, kid. You might be worth the money I hired you."

Suddenly, there was an absence of bottle meeting lips, so the old man opened his eyes just in time to see the creepy floppy hat wearing wannabe throw his sake out the window. The old man's jaw dropped, his hand raised as a tear slowly fell down his weathered cheek.

"M-my sake…"

As he silently wept, the old man looked at the genin group then sighed.

"Alright, I…AM THE GREAT BRIDGE BUILDER TAZUNA! And you!"

Tazuna pointed at the group, his finger pointed mostly at Naruto.

"You will protect me as I head back home to finish my lastest and greatest work…So don't let me down. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go properly restock for the journey."

Tazuna walked off, leaving Kakashi to turn to his genin students.

"Alright, pack your things and get ready. Meet at the west gate in an hour. Dismissed."

Nodding, Sasuke and Sakura walked off. Naruto tried to walk off too, but Kakashi grabbed his shoulder. The blonde raised an eyebrow, as Kakashi lead him away. As soon as Kakashi thought they had gathered enough distance, he turned to Naruto.

"Alright, Naruto, tell me. You have been way too excited this past week."

The blond genin looked away from Kakashi but at the same time, brought out a letter. Handing it to Kakashi, he waited as Kakashi read the letter. Nodding and returning the letter to Naruto, Kakashi could only look at Naruto. The blonde simply handed him a note.

'Darn fox held out on me.'

After reading the note, Kakashi stared at Naruto.

"Was this why you were asking for a C mission? That hopefully you could pose as a MIA and go to Wave country just to retrieve your student?"

Naruto gestured for Kakashi to turn the paper over.

'He grew on me.'

Kakashi nodded and turned to walk away, but not before he turned to Naruto.

"Naruto, if he was as any good as you praised him to be, then he should be fine. So don't get all drastic, okay?"

The bond genin looked at him before nodding and disappearing within a swirl of leaves.

A hour and 15 minutes later, Kakashi appeared next to the west gates.

"Sorry I'm late. Had to choose which supplies I had to bring."

Then the jonin realized that no one was exactly listening to him as they watched Naruto actually using writing in his notebook. That wasn't as strange as the fact that Naruto was actually using a clone to compare notes with. After much writing and nodding, both Narutos looked at each other and gave the thumbs up. One flashed through some seals, while the other one grabbed him and began to spin around. Everyone blinked, suddenly realizing it was a little draftier than usual, Sakura especially, holding down her skirt.

Finally, the Naruto that had been spinning let go, throwing the other Naruto into the air at a much faster rate than possible. The Naruto flew through the sky and disappeared behind the forest. Everyone couldn't understand what just happened, however Kakashi's heart stopped when the Naruto standing near to them disappeared under a puff of smoke. Looking between the horizon and the place that the clone had just been occupying, Kakashi was about ready to freak out.

However, Naruto reappeared, saving Kakashi a whole lot of paperwork. Sasuke simply raised his eyebrow.

"What was that, dobe?"

Sakura didn't miss a beat, though she sounded more like she was scolding.

"You gave sensei a heart attack, Arata! What did you do that for?"

Tazuna then decided to speak up.

"I don't *hic* care what that bucket *hic* hat wearing wannabe is doing. *Hic* As long as he *hic* stays away from my* sake…"

With that, he raised the bottle to his lips, only for him to meet no liquid. Opening his eyes, he saw that the bottle had been broken and the sake had fallen to the ground. Tears began to leak as Tazuna dropped to his knees. Picking up the sake saturated dirt, he began to whisper. Then he lifted his hands to the heavens.

"It's a sin. IT'S A SIN!"

Kakashi gulped as Tazuna glared at him. Suddenly feeling the weight of the bridge builder's hands on his shirt, he looked up to see a snarl and a completely sober face.

"Tell that boy to stay away from my sake. Okay?"

Kakashi scratched the back of his head.

"Well, I tell him for you. Just don't expect this to be over."

Tazuna turned away and mumbled something about getting it at home, then turned around to see Naruto grabbing his wrist.

"HEY! What the?"

Suddenly, Tazuna felt like beginning squished into a wall as he traveled at speeds he had never traveled at. Once his body felt the absence of crushing wind resistance, he resisted the urge to give his breakfast onto the ground. Hearing someone retch beside him, he turned his head only to stare wide eyed at one of the genins he had hired, emptying her stomach onto the ground while her team could only wait for her to let it out.

Tazuna let forth his own puke to ease his discomfort.

Despite Naruto's technique saving at least two and half hours of walking, Tazuna insisted on walking at least an equal amount of time. The first time that the old bridge maker had suggested it, the disguised Uzumaki gave a questioning glance to Kakashi. Kakashi waved him off, shrugging as he did so.

And so this cycle took place until nighttime when they met their transportation into Wave.

As the boat slowly moved towards land, Sakura looked around and turned to Kakashi.

"Sensei, is it me or is this mist a little too sudden?"

Sasuke was about to retort to Sakura when he caught the nervous glances that Naruto was casting around. In fact, all the members of the boat looked at the nervous genin. Tazuna looked at Kakashi.

"Oi, is wannabe here alright?"

Kakashi looked at Tazuna correctly, before laying a hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"Arata, are you alright?"

Naruto shook his head rapidly as he began to think.

'Why does this seem familiar?'

A forest stretched out before them. The moonlight illuminated their path as two people walked. One turned to the other.

"Aniki, how long before the next town?"

Naruto simply smiled before ruffling the other person's hair and waving his index finger. The other simply huffed before continuing to walk side by side with Naruto. As they walked on, mist began to drift in. Before long, the other turned to Naruto. 

"Naruuu, what's going on?"

Naruto turned to answer, when he stopped. He heard something, and it was getting closer. It sounded like…

Naruto quickly drew a kunai from his holster and stood up. Kakashi's visible eye widened as he reached to pull Naruto back down. The rest of the occupants simply wondered what in the world was the blond thinking?

The Uzumaki swung his kunai, instantly catching a gigantic butcher knife that had come out of the mist. Grunting with effort, Naruto sent the sword flying into another direction. The sword fell to the side in a great explosion of water. Naruto quickly looked over the side of the boat. Everyone quickly followed the example, and discovered that the boat's bottom was covered in ice.

Kakashi quickly turned to Sasuke and Sakura.

"EVERYONE, OFF THE BOAT! NOW!"

Quickly nodding, Sasuke and Naruto grabbed the two non ninjas and heaved them piggy back style. Then the four leaped off the boat. Quickly applying chakra to their feet, the group landed on the water and began to run with all their might. Both Naruto and the rower that he was holding chanced a look behind them to see a dragon head formed out of the water and crash into the boat, turning it into splinters.

Kakashi had also seen this and gave a stern look to Tazuna who turned his head to avoid the accusing gaze. Suddenly, Tazuna pointed out and shouted, "LOOK OUT!"

Seeing another dragon form out of the water, Sasuke quickly appeared in front of it and began to rapidly perform seals. Stopping at tiger, Sasuke deeply breathed in and blew out.

"KATON: GOKAKYU NO JUTSU!"

A huge ball of fire spewed from Sasuke's mouth and collided with the water dragon, creating a blanket of steam. The four began to run double time, and soon land appeared. However, before the group could make it, Sasuke looked up and could only hold out his hands as something dropped into them. Kakashi looked at the rower in Sasuke's arms and turned to look towards the water.

Right there, now trapped inside an orb of water, sat Arata, trapped as he helplessly watched. Next to the orb, Kakashi's knuckles tightened as he stared rigidly. Dark, emotionless stared at him while the bandages that covered the bottom half of the face concealed an excited smirk. The shinobi wore only grey camo pants, leaving the chest exposed. One hand was on the handle of the giant butcher knife one could loosely call a sword while the other stuck itself inside the orb. Finally, Kakashi's eye noticed the four lines on the headband that was wrapped around the head of the shinobi.

Kakashi knew he was in for a tough fight. He turned to Sakura and Sasuke.

"Sakura, Sasuke, take Tazuna and the rower to somewhere safe. I will deal with this one personally."

Sakura took a step forward.

"But sensei…"

The hard stare she received was justification enough for Sasuke. The Uchiha grabbed the shoulder of the Haruno and shook his head. Sakura didn't have time to blush at the contact, before she also nodded and helped Sasuke lead the two non ninjas away. Seeing the two genin take his target away, the mysterious shinobi chuckled.

"So you are willing to risk your life for this student? Just like a true Konoha shinobi…"

The mysterious shinobi finished chuckling, only to look at Kakashi with a sinister gleam in his eyes.

"What sentimental garbage…"

Kakashi lifted his headband, revealing a red eye with three tomoes.

"It's not garbage to me, though I wouldn't expect you to understand."

The shinobi simply snorted.

"Still, it would be a honor to wet my blade with your blood, Kakashi of the Sharingan."

Kakashi simply eased into a battle ready position.

"As expected from a demon as yourself, Zabuza Momochi of the Mist."

Zabuza simply smirked and turned to Naruto.

"I'll deal with you later."

With that, Zabuza released the prison he had on Naruto, leaving the blond to fall into the water. A few moments later, Naruto's head broke the surface. Zipping open his mask, Naruto began to cough. Then feeling the breeze off his head, the blond genin raised a hand only to feel his cropped hair. Kakashi appeared next to him and picked him out of the water. Dropping him on land, Kakashi watched as his first student picked himself up and draw out a kunai.

"Arata, don't."

He received an incredulous stare.

"Arata, you are right now down to half your chakra. And even if you're full strength, I'm sure that you're only a warm up to him. Please, stand down and assist the others."

Naruto simply looked at him, before returning the kunai to his holster and running into the foliage.

Zabuza simply slid the sword off his back.

"Good, I guess that garbage is good for something."

Meanwhile, a black haired fourteen year old was washing dishes, when he heard the door knock. He was about to answer until he heard the nice lady that let him live here answer it. Scooting closer, he listened in.

"Oh, Rumiko, it's so late out, what's going on?"

"Tsunami, your dad came back with three Konoha shinobis. Two of them are trying to hold back one of them from going back. Something about suffering from chakra exhaustion."

A sudden breeze made the two women look behind them to see a blur running into the night.

The three genins surrounded the two non shinobi, as they waited for the silver haired jonin to pop out and give a lame excuse for being late. Suddenly, the bushes began to rustle. The genins quickly got into postion to defend the two, while the two tensed and was ready to bolt. Then a black blur shot out of the bushes.

"ANIKI!"

Slamming right into Naruto's gut, the blur wrapped itself around the blonde's torso. Sasuke and Sakura got out of postion and stared at the strange twelve year old that was hugging Naruto.

He wore tight black pants and a black long sleeved shirt. His shoulders were covered with black armor. His black unruly hair looked eerily similar to the blond genin who was currently pinned under. The final item of notice was the strap encircling the boy's forehead. One goggle covered the left eye, though the real distinction was the orange spiral painted on the lens, obscuring any view of the eye. However, that might also have been because the preteen was now swinging Naruto around like a rag doll.

"ANIKI! TOBI SO GLAD YOU'RE ALIVE!" The now identified Tobi screamed as he crushed Naruto with his arms. Everyone sweat dropped seeing how Naruto was struggling to get out of the crushing embrace. However, what they didn't expect was for Naruto to get loose enough to return his own bone crushing hug, even enough to hear the cracking of bones from Tobi's spine.

Tobi got out of Naruto's grip and let his arms swing as he shot a rather dopey smile.

"Tobi really needed that. Oh, Tobi also got this for Aniki!"

Tobi then dug around his pockets and pulled out a bottle. He then handed it to Naruto, who stared at it, trying to recognize the container. Eyes suddenly widening in realization, he ripped off the top and began to pour the contents down his throat. One such object missed his mouth and found itself next to Sakura's feet. Picking it up, her eyes blinked before looking back at up at the now empty bottle.

"A-Arata, d-did you just ingest an entire bottle of soldier pills?…Y-you're insane."

Naruto gave a deadpan look to her.

Then looking at Tobi, Naruto pointed to a spot near Tazuna. Tobi assumed a sloppy salute, took out a kunai, and climbed on Tazuna's shoulders to act as a lookout. The old bridge builder didn't take too kindly to being a breathing look out post and shook Tobi off. A swirl of leaves was all the evidence one had of someone actually being there.

Meanwhile, Kakashi was now stuck in the water prison, while Zabuza had a wide smirk on his face as he looked down at his prisoner.

"So this is the infamous Kakashi of the Sharingan…Pathetic."

Meanwhile, Kakashi silently cursed.

_'I can't believe that I got caught. I can now hardly expect to be freed…'_

With that thought, Hatake Kakashi bowed his head in defeat.

_'I'm…sorry. Sensei, Obito, Rin, I'll see you soon… Naruto, bring them home.'_

Suddenly, the mist was dispersed as the night seemed to be illuminated. Turning their heads in the direction, they found a blue glowing Naruto with a determined look in his eyes as he began to go through seals. Zabuza simply smirked and Kakashi's eyes were widened as a clone of Zabuza made of water leapt out and cleaved Naruto from shoulder to hip.

Naruto's eyes betrayed their surprise as he fell to his knees…before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

Before the two could realize what had happened, the night behind them glowed blue. Turning around, Zabuza and Kakashi saw that Naruto had his mask down and his hands in the snake seal. He had finished his jutsu.

He had inhaled a deep breath of air. He exhaled a typhoon.

A great wave erupted and raced toward Zabuza and Kakashi. The Demon of the Mist could only stare slack jawed while Kakashi could only blink.

'That technique…that couldn't be…'

The wave then hit.

Sasuke quickly stood up and looked to Sakura.

"D-did you hear that?"

Sakura slowly nodded.

"It s-sounded like a typhoon."

"That's Aniki for you!" Tobi chirped.

Naruto fell into the water with a splash. He felt so drained that he could only float on his back. Naruto was so drained he made out the fuzzy outline of Zabuza drawing his sword and holding the blade next to his neck.

"Thanks for the bath, now die."

Just before Zabuza could swing down his sword, a kunai intercepted the blow. Naruto could only lazily watch as Kakashi struggled with the demon of the mist.

Zabuza grunted as he put more strength into his sword, trying to force his way through the kunai that was preventing him from getting to the blond behind him. Deciding that Ninjutsu might dislodge the stubborn silver haired jonin from his way, Zabuza leapt back and began to go through seals. Kakashi was about to jump out of the way until he realized that Naruto was behind him. Standing still, he began to go through seals of his own.

Zabuza finished first, followed by Kakashi by a brief quarter of a second.

"SUITON: SUIRYUDAN NO JUTSU!"

The water around them began to churn and form a dragon that launched themselves at the opposing dragon. A gigantic splash could be heard as the two techniques collided in the air as the water dropped back into the lake. As the water settled, Zabuza snarled as he saw that Kakashi had once again blocked his technique. Then something dawned on him.

As he jumped back to ponder this thought, Kakashi also jumped back. Zabuza raised one of his nonexistent eye brows. The mist nin decided to test out this little phenomenon.

As Zabuza began to circle Kakashi, Kakashi did the same thing. As Zabuza stopped and performed a seal, Kakashi did the same thing. As Zabuza performed another seal, Kakashi did the same thing. Needless to say, Kakashi was starting to irritate him.

Zabuza glared at Kakashi, as Kakashi returned a level stare.

"Huh…So this is why your other moniker is Copy Ninja Kakashi…Because you're nothing more than a copy cat!"

As he shouted, Zabuza began to perform more seals.

"Well, this time, I'M CLOSING THAT EYE OF YOURS FOR GOOD!"

As he stopped on a seal and looked, he gasped. There, seemingly behind Kakashi, was…

"Me?" Zabuza gasped, clearly aghast. So aghast, he didn't even notice Kakashi going through the final seals for a technique.

"SUITON: DAIBAKUFU NO JUTSU!"

With that, water twisted to the front of Kakashi, turning into a horizontal tornado of water, slamming itself into Zabuza. Zabuza was blown away by the technique and tried desperately to swim against the current. Then something slammed into the side of his face, and the demon of the mist was spat out of the tornado.

Crashing against a tree, Zabuza ached from his back and began to stand up again. Suddenly, pain erupted from both his shoulders as kunai pierced them. Not willing to die looking down, he looked up to see Kakashi rushing at him with a kunai heading towards his throat.

Before Kakashi could make it, a flash of wind blew and Kakashi found himself stabbing wood. Turning around, he leapt and dodged a couple of needles that could have pierced the back of his neck. Turning around, he was able to see a flash of green as the unknown shunshined with Zabuza in tow.

Satisfied that Zabuza was gone, he turned to a kage bunshin who was carrying Naruto on its shoulders. Nodding at the clone, the two leapt off to find Kakashi's genin team. However, as they leapt off, Kakashi noticed that one of Naruto's knuckles was a fading red.

Translations:

Katon: Gokakyu no jutsu – Fire release: Giant Fireball Technique

Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu – Water release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique

Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu – Water releaseGiant Waterfull Technique

Author's note:

Fu will make her appearance next chapter, believe it!


	6. Chapter 6

…Sorry if I didn't make this clear, the last chapter, as well as any chapter after, is currently beta read and discussed with Lazruth, author of Blood Pain, another Fu X Naruto story, currently under hiatus. If you give it a chance, you just might like it.

On October 3, 2010, I received what I think is my first flame from a guy only named so. A straight up flame with cussing, and outright bashing. And you know what? I'm actually okay with it. In fact, the guy actually opened my eyes to a few things about my story I'm currently working on explaining. For that, thank you, so! Your contribution is appreciated.

Alright, I'm skipping the questions, mostly because there aren't many and the ones that are there…I don't exactly feel like answering.

Alright without further ado, here's chapter six!

Key

Normal

SHOUTING/JUTSU

_Flashback_

'Writing'

'_Thoughts'_

"_**tailed beast talk"**_

'_**tailed beast thought'**_

* * *

"Shoot! She got away!"

The man's two companions looked at him with thinly veiled contempt.

"Well, what tipped you off?"

The group didn't look too outrageous; in fact, one could say they just looked like faces in the crowd. The only distinguishing feature about them was the headband tied around their foreheads. The symbol on them was two jagged lines that looked like a waterfall. Then again, considering that these shinobi were from the Village hidden in the Waterfall, it doesn't exactly come as too big of a surprise.

"Look, Suien is not going to be happy. Let's try to split up and search the area."

The other two nodded, and the three went off in separate directions. However, they didn't seem to notice that in one part of the forest was a spot slightly lower than the area around it. Deep inside the concealed hole, a lithe figure could be seen. After making sure that the shinobi were gone, she began to work through the seals of the only Katon jutsu she knew.

With that, she blew out a small stream of fire that lit the stick that was in her hand. The space was now illuminated by the light, allowing the girl to take out a paper from the cylinder shaped object next to her and roll it out on the floor. The light showed that the paper was actually a map.

The girl quickly began to trace her finger through the pictures and the described cities. Finally, she found what she was looking for. Quickly analyzing her options, she decided to try to lose her pursuers in Wave. Stowing the map into the cylindrical pack and blowing out the match, she then began to travel underground.

Meanwhile, the three Taki shinobi were actually standing all together on a tree branch. One of them had out a paper with a seal inscribed on it.

"How long do you think until she realizes that we put a tracking seal on her pack?"

"Hopefully not until we nab her."

* * *

Soft. He wasn't familiar with soft. Zabuza woke up to find himself in a bed with clean sheets. Looking around, he saw his sword resting against the frame of his bed, so he concluded that he wasn't captured. Then again, the bed gave that away. Continuing to look around, he saw that he was in a bare room made completely out of wood. Then the door opened as a feminine figure walked in.

The figure was dressed in the garb of a Mist hunter nin. Tan dress-like shorts exposed silky smooth legs. A light green long sleeved turtle neck and a dark green thin jacket completely covered her upper body with the exception of the hands. Black hair was tied back into a bun, leaving two bangs to frame the face. Finally, the face itself was covered by a white mask with two eye holes and thin ribbons of green stretching from the left side.

Walking up next to Zabuza's bedside, the figure pulled out a seat and sat on it. Then, a very feminine sounding voice floated over to Zabuza's ears.

"I see that you're awake."

Zabuza snorted.

"As if simple kunai can stop me, Haku…"

Haku tilted her head and seemed to look at Zabuza's jaw.

"You sound like you're having a hard time talking."

Zabuza experimentally stretched his jaw, and mentally flinched in pain. The figure simply laid a hand on Zazuza's chest.

"Easy, that boy's punch must have cracked your jaw."

Zabuza raised a nonexistent eyebrow in confusion.

"That boy never touched me."

The response he got in return was a simple nod.

"True, but perhaps when he was caught up in that technique…"

The implications of the figure's statement then fully hit Zabuza. The only reaction he gave off was a hollow little laugh.

"Did he? Huh, gutsy little punk. No wonder he managed to capture those two."

The figure nodded in agreement.

"To go after associates of the Demon of the Mist would take some audacity."

"If this is the Demon of the Mist, then the Mist must be worst off than I thought!"

Zabuza could only grimace as the arrogant tone of his employers grated through his ears. Looking past Haku, he saw three shadows in the doorway. Two of them he didn't care for. If he knew Gato like he did, they were probably samurais that latched onto him for a free meal.

What really attracted his attention was the man in between the two. He wore the stereotypical garb of a rich and successful businessman. He wore leather dress shoes, black trousers, a white dress shirt, a black tie, and a black jacket. His ring studded hand was wrapped around a gold handled cane. His light brown hair showed streaks of grey in between them. He wore small wire frame glasses that couldn't hide the vicious sneer in his eyes, as if he scorned the man who was lying in the bed before him.

Swaggering into the room with his two bodyguards, Gato let a sneer twist his lips as he looked at Zabuza.

"So what's this I hear about you being punched by a genin? I thought you cooked genins on a spit roast by the dozens. How disappointing…"

Zabuza groaned. There wasn't a lot of things that Zabuza hated, but one of the few things he did were people who simply didn't know about how shinobis lived yet acted like they did. It sickened him to no end.

"The brat had the legendary Kakashi with him, Gato. Excuse me if I couldn't dodge a punch from a snot-nosed brat while trying not to get killed by his sensei."

Gatou could only walk next to Zabuza's bedside in much excessive bravado.

"Just look at you. So helpless…Maybe I should take care of you myself."

As Gato reached out towards Zabuza's throat, Zabuza could only smirk.

'_Three…two…one.'_

"AUGH!"

A shrill scream of pain erupted from Gato's mouth as Haku grabbed his wrist and started to squeeze. The two bodyguards tried to intervene by drawing out their swords, only to realize that their swords were being held next to their necks. Craning their eyes next to them, they saw Haku holding their swords in both hands.

"Leave. Now."

With that, Gato told his two bodyguards to get their swords and get out. As he became the last to leave, he glanced back at Zabuza and growled before exiting. Haku simply smoothed out an imaginary wrinkle before sitting back down.

"He was annoying."

Zabuza nodded.

"Yes, he is."

* * *

Meanwhile, the sunlight poured through an open window and hit Arata in the face full force. Grimacing and covering his eyes with his hands, the blond genin sat up and began to look around. He was in a futon, clad only in his boxers and mask, in a nice and cozy room. Must be Tazuna's place.

"You're awake. Good, at least we know you're not dead."

Arata turned his head to see someone standing in the doorway. The twelve year old was wearing a light blue sleeveless shirt as well as dirty tan pants that reached to his knees. The look that he was giving Arata was so blank, one might as well dress a corpse the same way as him and it wouldn't make a difference.

Arata simply looked at him and nodded. Confusion laced the boy's face until realization hit him. Then he went back to his indifferent attitude.

"Oh yeah, you can't talk. Your clothes and equipment are hanging on the wall next to you. Also … a word of advice."

Arata looked up from putting on his shirt.

"Abandon this mission, there is no hope."

With that, the boy left, leaving Arata to stare at the spot before returning to his dressing.

'_Cheery.'_

Walking down the hallways, Arata had to admit that it had that quaint, yet strangely sober atmosphere to it. Walking down the stairway, he found himself in the kitchen area.

"Oh good, you're up."

Arata turned his head to see (in his opinion) a rather young woman facing around from the dishes. She wore a tan top that clung loosely to her bust. Her black skirt went all the way to her ankles, while her own black hair went down to the middle of her back. Her look was that of a kind hostess graciously opening her home to her guests.

"Good. I didn't feel like paying extra for your funeral."

Arata turned his head to see Tazuna sitting on a chair next to him.

"Word of advice: keep your grubby hands off my beautiful daughter. She deserves better than you."

The woman turned towards Tazuna.

"Dad!"

Arata simply raised an eyebrow. Tazuna pointed a finger at him.

"I've seen that look before, so tread lightly, kid."

The woman came over and bopped Tazuna on the head.

"Dad, stop harassing him. He is your bodyguard after all."

Then she stepped in front of Arata and bowed.

"Thank you for agreeing to be a bodyguard for my father. My name is Tsunami, pleased to meet you, Arata."

Lifting her head, she saw that Arata had also bowed with a note in his hands.

'Likewise.'

Smiling, she turned to Tazuna.

"Also, dad, don't forget. You got to go do the groceries today."

Tazuna looked crestfallen as he began to open some sake.

"Yeah, yeah."

Suddenly, the sake was taken from him. Blinking, he turned around in time to see Arata throw the sake into the water. Jumping from his seat so fast the chair clattered to the floor, Tazuna jumped out the window and into the water.

"I'M COMING, SAKE! HOLD ON!"

Tsunami smiled at Arata.

"I can probably take a lesson from you."

* * *

Kakashi had to admit, Arata taught Tobi well. Both Tobi and Sasuke were taking deep gulps of air as they both stared at each other with anticipation for the next clash. Their spar left them hungry for more, as well as a phantom pain in Sasuke's jaw, and a tingling in Tobi's stomach.

Both people shot forward, with a fist raised. Fist both caught by the other's hand, both simply threw another fist. Sasuke simply smirked as he grabbed both of Tobi's wrists and leaned back, catching Tobi on the chin with both his feet.

Tobi stumbled back, allowing for Sasuke to rush forward and slide, hoping to catch Tobi's shin. If Sasuke would have been paying attention, he would have seen the glint that was shining in Tobi's eye. Tobi jumped back and nearly punched Sasuke's leg, barely missing it by an inch. Sasuke stopped and spun his legs around to catch Tobi's own legs. Tobi quickly jumped over and landed behind the Uchiha

Tobi flew right at Sasuke with his right fist extended. Sasuke spun out of the way, and used the momentum to swing a leg at Tobi. Tobi ducked and spun towards Sasuke with a fist aimed towards Sasuke's knee. Sasuke jumped up and aimed a foot at Tobi's face, which Tobi blocked with both forearms. Lifting up, Tobi raised Sasuke's leg, letting the Uchiha to flip in the air and land on the ground with one hand on the ground.

As Sakura watched, she quietly complimented whoever trained Tobi.

As Kakashi watched, he couldn't help but wonder why he kept imagining them in tutus.

As Sasuke landed, he had a small smile. He had to admit, for a twelve year old, he was giving a decent warmup for. Lifting off the ground, he stood up straight, and put up a 'come on' gesture. Tobi simply slid back into his battle ready position, face set that a rock would be proud of.

Suddenly, Tobi dashed through, knocking Sasuke over, and leaving Sakura to take care of him.

"ANIKI!"

Arata managed to keep standing as Tobi glomped him.

"TOBI SO GLAD THAT ANIKI IS AWAKE!"

Naruto could only pat his head as he pried the hyperactive preteen off his body. Kakashi came up next to Naruto and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Arata, so good of you to join us. You just missed this morning training, so go do some squats or something. I think Tazuna needs the rest of us to do something."

Arata nodded and walked away, Tobi not far behind.

Sasuke scooted next to Sakura.

"Hey, Sakura."

Sakura had to suppress the blush that was coming to her cheeks.

"Yes, Sasuke?"

"Do you notice that Kakashi seems to not train Arata as much as us?"

Sakura took a moment to think. True, in all their training sessions, Kakashi didn't exactly train Arata as hard as them. However, if this mission was proving anything, Arata was still on the same level, maybe even higher than them. After all, Arata just rushed back into battle after swallowing a whole bottle of soldier pills whole. Though she didn't exactly know what a whole bottle can do, she concluded it wasn't that good.

"Yeah, yet he probably can stand toe to toe with you."

Sasuke stared at Sakura.

"Also, do you notice that at times, Kakashi seems to be more comfortable with Arata?"

"You mean like all the times when he stole Kakashi's orange book? Are you suggesting that there is more?"

"More as in they know each other personally beyond what we see, not…"

Then Sakura saw the one thing she thought she would never have the chance to see in her entire life: Sasuke looking down, slightly blushing in embarrassment.

"…You know."

Sakura thought, before a scared and horrified look took over her face.

"R-right."

Kakashi and Arata simply looked at each other, wondering what were the Uchiha and Haruno talking about.

Tazuna walked next to the group, and shouted.

"Hey, your little gossip party can wait. I need my bodyguards!"

* * *

"My... gosh…"

Sakura could barely mutter as she, Sasuke and Tazuna walked through the city. She was kind of glad that Kakashi decided to stay behind with Arata to help out around the house. What she saw could have been summed up in two words: poverty manifested. Everywhere, she could see buildings about to crumble and break apart just from the slightest touch. Everywhere, she could smell dust, paint, and feces. Everywhere, she just had to watch her step from stepping on the feces that had been lying in the streets. Everywhere, she could hear the wailing of starving babies and the cries of despair.

However, the thing that was etched into her mind were faces. They were everywhere, some looking down at the floor, some looking up for a moment to look at the trio only to look down again, and some who looked up and spat at their feet. They were all the same: broken, weary and destitute.

Sakura could only think back to last night as they brought Arata to Tazuna's house.

_Flashback_

_As Arata was covered by the blanket, Kakashi stared at Tazuna._

"_Alright, Tazuna, what happened? What's going on? Do you realize just how much you've done?_

_Tazuna felt the questioning stares of team 7 and immediately cracked under the pressure._

"_Look, we didn't have the money, Wave didn't have the money. A C-ranked mission was all that we afford,even after pooling together all the money that slimy Gato didn't get his hands on!"_

_While both Sakura and Sasuke looked at each other in confusion, Kakashi blinked to show his surprise._

"_Gato? You mean the Gato of Gato Enterprises? What does he have to do with anything?"_

_Tazuna snorted before sitting down and leaning against the wall._

"_Don't you Konoha shinobi have a saying about looking underneath the underneath? Well…I'll tell you, if you did that to Gato, you would wish you were wearing steel toed boots at the time."_

_Flashback End_

Looking back now, Sakura realized she didn't want to meet the guy wearing steel toed boots. She wanted to meet the guy lying on his back while wearing the most sharpest cleats she could find. She was so entrenched in her fantasy that she let her ire show, creeping out Sasuke as she began to mutter and nod to herself.

Quickly making some distance from Sakura and keeping up with Tazuna, Sasuke looked to the side. Then feeling a tug on the back of his shirt, the Uchiha looked down to see a young girl holding out her hands. Sasuke stared at the empty palms, then into the girl's expectant eyes. Sighing, he dug around his pocket and took out what he had. He didn't exactly expect for a long trip, so he only brought the things he deemed necessary, extra money not being one of them.

Regardless, Sasuke unceremoniously dumped the pocket change into the girl's waiting hands. What he expected was a sad look expressing the girl's distress of not receiving more. What he got was a look of absolute joy as the girl quietly counted all the money in her hand. She glanced up and Sasuke could see her eyes nearly tearing up with barely restrained joy.

The girl ran off with a smile on her face, but not before bowing before Sasuke and happily chirping, "THANKS!"

Sasuke then noticed Tazuna and Sakura looking back at him from some distance away. He then began to walk towards them, his pace quickened.

"Do you see why we need the bridge?"

Tazuna asked as they walked on the path back to Tazuna's house. Sakura stared at Tazuna, then opened the bag and glanced inside. The groceries inside the bag barely looked edible.

"Sort of…"

Tazuna sighed as he looked beyond the trees.

"This bridge…is more than just a bridge. This is hope personified. If this bridge is completed, then maybe hope can return to Wave…"

Both genin were slowly digesting what the bridge builder said, when suddenly Tobi ran into the clearing.

"Sakura-sempai! Come on, Aniki needs help!"

Sakura stared at Tobi then quickly gave her groceries to Sasuke, who grunted from the extra weight. Then Tobi just grabbed Sakura's wrist and disappeared within a swirl of leaves. After the leaves settled, Tazuna turned to Sasuke.

"Well? Come on, we still got at least a mile to go."

Sasuke grunted as he struggled to hold the bags comfortably.

Appearing in the living room, Tobi quickly led Sakura up into Arata's room. Sakura burst into the room, expecting to see Arata holding his side leaning against the wall. What she got was Kakashi looking up from his orange book, and Arata looking relatively unharmed just putting a blanket over what she saw a mass of light green hair.

"Arata? I thought you needed help?"

Kakashi nodded.

"He doesn't. She does."

Looking over Arata's shoulder, she saw a girl about their age with light chocolate skin and light green hair. Looking at Arata, she raised her eyebrow.

"Okay, what happened?"

Kakashi once again looked up from his book.

"Let's just say she fell out of the sky and into Arata's arms."

Sakura sighed out of exasperation for her sensei's eccentricity. She then grabbed the sheets and pulling them back. The girl apparently had a liking for white. She had on a white top with a mesh shirt under to cover her chest. Her mid thigh skirt revealed the mesh shorts under as well as the crease to her pelvic region. A single orange pin kept her hair out of the face. Overall, she was both appalled and strangely jealous by this girl's comfort with her choice of wardrobe.

She began to examine the girl while Arata and Kakashi occupied themselves with other things, of course keeping one eye on what was happening.

* * *

Meanwhile, Gato was fuming.

"HOW DARE SHE! I'm her employer! I'm his employer! I could throw them to the hunter nins!

"Sir, we got three people that would like to see you."

"What! Tch, send them in and let me see what they want."

"Yes, sir."

"Are you Gato?"

"Yeah, what of it?"

"We are shinobi from the village of Takikagure, and we require your assistance in catching a fugitive from our village."

"Hm… A fugitive, huh? Why should I? He doesn't look like he's much of a threat if all Takikagure sent was three shinobi."

"Takikagure is currently a little short handed."

"Tch, alright, my men, however, require a little persuasion. Now let's talk price."

* * *

Authors Note:

Done.


	7. Chapter 7

Yeah, I know that I am massively late with this chapter, but I have my reasons. I mean, there is school, which takes up the majority of the week and the day. There is wrestling, keeping me from 3 – 5 pm. There is homework. There is the stress that I'm going to graduate. Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep. Tons of stuff is weighing on me right now.

And in the end, I have to remind myself this and I think you people should take this advice to heart… perhaps you do and this is redundant for you, for that, I'm sorry. Still, it's a hobby. I mean, all the authors on this site have school, families, jobs, children, etc. Sometimes fanfiction has to take a backseat to life.

I'm just saying.

Key

Normal

SHOUTING/JUTSU

_Flashback_

'Writing'

'**Sign Language'**

'_Thoughts'_

"_**tailed beast talk"**_

'_**tailed beast thought'**_

Kakashi sat at the dinner table, his single eye simply watching the flame on the candle. All around his small bubble, darkness and silence reigned, the crashing of the waves a distant sound. The beats of wings rang out from outside as the wind beat against the sea worn wood. Suddenly the floor boards creaked as feet put weight on them. The candlelight soon revealed Tazuna's solemn face.

"You wanted to see me, Kakashi?"

Kakashi just kept staring at the lit candle and gave no response to Tazuna. Tazuna waited for the silver-haired jonin to say something, but it wasn't long before Tazuna began to feel uncomfortable in the room. Just before Tazuna could leave to regain his composure, Kakashi spoke in a low tone.

"Tazuna, we have much to discuss about."

Kakashi turned around to look at Tazuna straight in the eye. Tazuna flinched at the look that Kakashi gave him. This wasn't Kakashi, perverted sensei to three green genin brats, staring at him. This was Kakashi, battle-hardened Jonin of Konoha. The bridge builder made a quick mental note not to mess around. Kakashi, meanwhile, continued to stare at him, unmindful of the bridge builder's distress.

"So…what do you want to know?" Tazuna asked in a calm tone that hid his fluctuating bladder control. Kakashi simply turned away and began to stare again at the candle.

"Please…tell me why of all the missing-nins we have to fight… Why is Zabuza Momochi, the Demon of the Mist as well as an ex-member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, after us?"

Tazuna sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose, about ready to lay his cards on the table. He could only hope that he had drawn some ones.

"My guess is he must have been hired by Gato." Tazuna paused as he waited for the copy nin's reaction. What he got was a blink from the widened visible eye as Kakashi ran the information through his memory and came up with one match.

"Gato? You mean of Gato Enterprises? He's one of the richest men in the world…" Tazuna grimaced at the tone of shock and awe that Kakashi gave off. A small spark of satisfaction came as the old bridge builder prepared to reveal Gato for what he truly was. However, that spark of smugness was extinguished as he reminded himself of the severity of the situation.

"True, and I would have a little more respect for him if I didn't know where all his wealth came from."

That one sentence brought Kakashi out of his reverie and back into his serious state.

"Explain."

Tazuna nodded and began to tell his story, mindful that his next words would very well decide the fate of Wave.

Fu could be considered, by all accounts, a down to earth kind of girl. She didn't need luxury, because she never knew it. While most people had a room or an apartment to put their stuff, all her belongings were carried on her back. The only clothes that she owned was her shinobi outfit, and it was even a wonder how it managed to stay so white after the things that she had to do as a kunoichi. She never even knew the softness of a futon, her back used to resting against the roughness of the bark of a tree or the soft firmness of the walls of a hole in the ground.

So it really came as a surprise to her to suddenly wake up in a futon in what she had to admit felt like a very cozy room overlooking the forest beyond. Sitting up and throwing the blanket off her, she began to look over herself and clothes, making sure that she hadn't been violated in anyway. During her little search, an amused voice spoke from the back of her head.

_**"Relax, kid. As far as I can tell, if they wanted you for naughty things, you would have been naked, bound and gagged. Such a shame."**_

Fu rolled her eyes as she refused to respond. Apparently, the Kabutomushi no Nanabi got a kick out of Fu being humiliated. However, it did draw the line if Fu got hurt to the point of possibly dying. It certainly didn't feel like being dragged down into the emptiness of death with its jailor.

Making sure that everything was in order; she began to walk to the door and reached for the knob. Then a click could be heard as the door swung open. The lime green haired girl soon was staring at one of her benefactors. Seeing the zipper in the mask and the cropped blond hair, she began to feel a little unsafe. That was until she saw the forehead protector showing the leaf symbol of Konoha wrapped around his right bicep, and Fu immediately felt relieved.

Arata didn't know what to do. Here he was, about ready to check up on the condition of their "guest," only for her to wake up and appear right at the door. Quickly looking over the girl, he had to admit that she had some very…unique eyes.

Quickly banishing the thought from his head, he got out his notebook and began to write out a message. Ripping out the paper, Arata began to look through the greeting he wrote.

'Hi, how are you feeling?'

Approving of the message, he handed the girl the message. As she read the message, Arata looked down at the floor, waiting for the girl to respond. A finger tapped his shoulder, and he looked up only to see a confused look on the girl's face, as she handed him back the note. The blond genin took the note, but soon realized that there was nothing else but his original message written on it. Mentally sighing, he put the notebook away when the girl began to perform hand signs.

His shinobi instincts flared as Arata got ready to rush forward and knock the girl out before she could perform her jutsu. However, he calmed himself after he began to realize something. The way her hands were moving, it certainly seemed she wasn't in a rush to complete a jutsu, more like she was trying to say something using her hands. Then Arata realized that she was trying to do.

His hands slowly came up as he racked through his brains, desperately searching his memory for anything that he could scourge up. Coming up with only a handful of hand signs, Arata slowly went through the few signs that he did know.

**"R u ok?"**

The girl blinked and looked at Arata with an eyebrow raised. Arata could only sheepishly shrug, while he prepared for the backlash that was surely coming for him after that pathetic excuse. Then the disguised Uzumaki sighed in relief as the girl sensed his discomfort and simply nodded in response. A silence settled between them as they both struggled to break it. Their stomachs soon decided to break the quiet for them, sending loud grumbles that sent a few birds flying from the roof. The two jinchuriki squirmed and adopted a pinkish hue in embarrassment as they heard their prisoners laugh at their expense.

However, the moment didn't last long as the two smelled something that was cooking from the kitchen. Arata watched in amusement as the girl covered her mouth to stop herself from drooling. The blond genin nodded his head to the girl to follow him.

"So, sensei, where did you find her, exactly?" Sakura asked Kakashi, who currently had his nose buried inside a very familiar orange book. Kakashi looked up and tilted his head in feigned confusion.

"You say something, Sakura?"

The pinkette sweat dropped while Sasuke face palmed at the stupidity of his sensei. Kakashi chuckled a little bit before talking.

"Well…"

"Tobi wants to know too!"

Sakura and Sasuke had to smirk as the seemingly perpetually energetic Tobi popped up behind Kakashi, wearing a bright pink apron with frills, practically shouting into the silver-haired man's ear. Kakashi sighed as he got back up from the floor and cleaned his ear with his pinky.

"Like I said before I was rudely interrupted, well…"

_Flashback_

_Kakashi cracked his neck and gave out a large sigh as Arata stood in his combat stance, his chest heaving in gigantic heaves._

_"Come on Naruto, try to vary your moves a little. A kick here and there would suffice."_

_The predatory glint in Arata's eyes told Kakashi to stand back and watch the blond. His suspicions were proven when Naruto disappeared. Quickly spinning around, Kakashi blocked a punch from Arata as he simualtaneously kicked at Arata's head. Arata's other hand blocked the attack and held the foot with an iron grip. Both Kakashi and Arata struggled for control, trying to get the other to release their hand/foot._

_Finally, both pushed the others appendage away, hoping to bring the other off-balance and launch their own counterstrike. Arata used his momentum to change into a spinning heel kick, while Kakashi changed into a left hook. Both attacks landed right on their mark, the heel crashing into Kakashi's face with the fist smashing right into Arata's temple. Both sensei and student were sent flying, and skidded across the grass._

_Kakashi slowed to a stop as he crouched down in a low position and looked up, ready to fight once more. He was just in time to see Arata slip and fall on his face. Normally, the jonin would reprimand the blond and force him to pick himself up again to spar some more, but something felt a little off. So deciding to investigate, he made his way over to see what was wrong._

_"Naruto, are you okay?"_

_Arata simply nodded and gave a thumbs up. Tilting his head, Kakashi leaned over to see what his student had tripped on. What he saw made him blink and walk over to get a closer look. He rubbed his eye and confirmed what he saw the last two times. The disguised Uzumaki's foot was directly slipping into the ground in one exact spot, like the grass was nothing more than a mirage._

_Quickly determining the cause as genjutsu, Kakashi made a hand sign and sent out a pulse of chakra that shattered the illusion, revealing a hold about the width of Arata's foot._

_Arata grunted for a bit before pulling his foot out. He rubbed it for a few moments, before looking up at Kakashi. Seeing the expectant look, Arata pointed downwards with his finger. Kakashi simply gave him his infamous eye-smile._

_"After you."_

_Arata rolled his eyes at his sensei, before sinking into the ground using his Doton: Moguragakure technique. Kakashi pulled out his Icha Icha and began to read some more pages, when Arata's head popped out of the ground. Kakashi looked up from his book and down at Arata's head._

_"So, what do you find?"_

_Arata did nothing but to unzip his mask, grab the orange book by its bottom, ripped it out of Kakashi's hand and disappeared underground. Kakashi blinked in disbelief as his hands tried to grasp the empty space that his precious book had once occupied. Then fire raged around the copy nin as his single visible eye saw only red._

_"Arata, GET BACK HERE!" Kakashi roared, sending birds flying, and those who heard it to lose all control of body functions. Kakashi then dove into the ground, about ready to tear the genin's limbs off, and then beat him with them._

_Arata turned around sharply when the floor burst in a shower of dirt and dust, revealing a very pissed Kakashi holding out his hand. The masked genin held out the orange book, which Kakashi took gently and turned around to check for any damage. Relieved that the book, didn't receive any damage, he gave a level glare at Arata, who began shivering._

_"Tell me, Arata, what was so important that you grabbed my book with your teeth?"_

_Arata pointed to the curled up body of a white clad girl facing the wall. As both sensei and student crouched down to examine her condition, Kakashi turned to Arata._

_"You know, there were easier ways of getting me down here."_

_End Flashback_

"But Sensei, I thought you said she came from the sky?" Sakura asked confusedly. Sasuke just waited for the jonin's response, while Tobi stared at Kakashi, so enraptured in the story like a child being read a bedtime story. Kakashi simply blinked.

"Really, I said that?" The statement sent everyone face faulting. The reactions his students (and his student's student) gave Kakashi a small chuckle.

"Well, I guess I was still venting at the time."

Arata chose that moment to slide the door open and enter the room. He blinked once before looking outside. He made a welcoming gesture before widening the door, revealing Fu straightening up and adopting a blank face. Arata simply shrugged at the girl's strange behavior before showing her in.

Kakashi shook his head at his student's cluelessness before taking in their patient. He had to sort of smile at that the fact that though she had a blank face, her posture clearly showed her nervousness. Deciding to gain her trust and take the edge off, Kakashi turned his attention to Fu.

"Well, I see our guest is awake. So, just for the sake of courtesy, mind introducing you to us?"

Fu blinked, before tentatively going through a few handsigns. Both the Haruno and Uchiha leaped up, ready for anything, while Kakashi simply stroked his chin and nodded once in a while. When Fu finished, both Sasuke and Sakura stood around, a bit confused about the lack of destruction that usually followed each jutsu. Kakashi, unfazed by the display, turned to his two startled genin.

"Team seven, this is Fu. She will be joining us for breakfast today. Help her feel welcome."

Fu was greeted by a few weak hellos along with a loud one. Kakashi sighed, before gesturing around.

"Well, I forgot my manners. I'm Kakashi…that's Sasuke, Sakura, Tobi and don't mind Arata…he just has problems communicating."

A paper ball went through past Fu's head and hit Kakashi on the forehead.

"Ow."

Fu sweatdropped.

After breakfast, Kakashi mentioned to Tobi.

"Oh Tobi, could you please keep Fu company for a while?" Kakashi asked, which made Tobi smile. He proceeded to nod his head so fast that the people inside the room were amazed that his head wasn't going to snap off. Then he bounded next to Fu, then taking her by the hand, dragged her out the room. Once the two were out of the room, Kakashi's mood darkened.

"Alright, Team Seven, I have some news concerning this mission."

Everyone on the table snapped up in attention. Kakashi put away his book and folded his hands in front of him.

"Guys, this cannot be called a C-ranked mission."

The three genin had to stop themselves from sweatdropping at the obvious statement. C-rank missions were defending a client from people whose idea of swordsmanship was to swing around the biggest sword. What they had on their hands was much more than that.

"As for now, this mission is now classified as an A-ranked mission. As standard protocol states, I have called a team meeting to decide what we should do now."

Sakura stood up and smashed her fist into the table, as she glared at the copy nin.

"Sensei, I don't know if I speak for the team. But I saw things yesterday, and in all good conscience, I can't turn back and let this happen! I vote we stay!"

Kakashi next looked at Sasuke, who had his hands folded in front of him, with his eyes closed.

"I vote we stay, too."

A slip of paper found itself in Kakashi's hands. Opening it up, he saw the following words.

'Do you even need to ask?'

Kakashi nodded and put the piece of paper down.

"Well, I guess we're staying. Now how about staying here and keeping our green haired guest company while I go and send out a messenger bird?"

Arata quickly got up and made his way to the door to the outside worried for both Fu and Tobi. Tobi had the best intentions, but the less than stellar methods. Opening the door, he stopped and took the scene beyond him.

Three men had both Fu and Tobi surrounded. Tobi was whimpering from the arrow he had lodged in his shoulder, while Fu was breathing hard and holding Tobi close. The three men had a variety of weapons on them, from swords to bows and arrows. Their postures spoke volumes of arrogance and amusement of Tobi's pain.

Arata's vision began to bleed red as he began to force the door open to leap out and rip the three thugs a new one. However, Naruto soon sensed something in the air. Examining it a little more, he held out a hand to stop both Sakura and Sasuke, who were ready to jump out to help the duo. Sakura looked at Arata with disbelief, but Arata shook his head.

Then all three men dropped their weapons and grabbed their heads as they started to scream. All three genin looked at each other before racing and knocking out the trio. As Naruto punted the head of a kneeling thug, he was able to see Fu's eyes glow before she blinked, bringing her pupils back to their pinkish-orange color.

Filing the information away, Arata knelt next to Tobi and tried to examine the wound. Getting Sakura to treat the boy, he quickly rummaged through the belongings of each of the thugs. Kakashi rushed onto the scene, eye blinking.

"What's going on? I heard screaming."

Arata ignored Kakashi, finding a rolled up piece of paper tucked inside one of the thugs' belts. Taking it out and unrolling it, he examined it before his eyes widened and giving it to Kakashi. The copy nin looked at it before turning it to Fu.

"I think it would be best if you start explaining yourself."

The paper was a wanted notice…with Fu's picture on it.

Author's note:

I have nothing interesting to say.


	8. Author's note

Hello, this is BoredParanoia with a special announcement. Lately, I've been doing some thinking about this story and well… I really don't like the plot. For me, it's all just rewritten canon that has occurred over a million times. So I am also currently working on the first chapter of the new story, still called Quiet in the Storm, as well as the second chapter of These Shades of Light (which you should check out even though.) However, there will be a few noticeable differences.

Naruto will definitely have a bloodline, one that will severally limit his ability to talk. He won't exactly be 'mute', but with this bloodline, he might as well be.

Naruto will definitely rely on other forms of attack, but mostly on kenjutsu, thanks to a little gift by Kakashi.

He probably won't go back to Konoha. Keep in mind that he was four and it doesn't exactly make much sense to go back. He will keep in contact.

He will live in a very familiar place, familiar to any Naruto fanfic reader.

He and Fu will meet differently .

That's what I got so far but I also got a question. Everyone has been wondering about the last chapter, so give me your voice. Should I at least finish the wave arc before going on the rewrite?


End file.
